


Know Your Enemy

by VampireQueen17



Category: Code Lyoko
Genre: Androids, Angst, Digital World, Eventual Romance, M/M, Mild Blood, Non-Consensual Body Modification, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:48:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 36,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25909117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VampireQueen17/pseuds/VampireQueen17
Summary: This is my own characters in an altered and more grown-up version of Code Lyoko.
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Kudos: 1





	1. Standard Mission

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work in process, but I wanted to post what I had done. Many twists and turns are planned in my outline, but writer's block is hitting hard recently.

**Chapter 1: Standard Mission**

****

“He’s in,” a serious looking man reported into his headset. “Did the transfer go smoothly Shen?”

“If you did your job right it did,” Shen retorted.

“Just give us an answer. We do not have all day,” the technician said while rubbing his temple in annoyance.

“It’s all good, no bugs to see here. There are some sounds coming from the distance, but I cannot tell if it’s our creature friends or the enemy,” Shen answered.

“That is just XANA sending some crabs and blocks your way if they decide to show their faces again. Head to the south tower and install the program I sent you.”

“Roger, but what is this program?” Shen asked as he began to run to his ordered destination.

“It will allow us to syphon more energy and resources to use in our work,” the now very irate voice responded.

“The last five missions have been for the same thing. Is this much energy really necessary?”

“Yes. You are a weapon for XANA, so he can focus solely on his goals without worrying too much about physical combat on Lyoko. You will be told only what you absolutely need to know and nothing more. Don’t push your luck!”

“Ok, fine. I am just curious, but it’s not like I’d understand any of your techno-babble anyway. Can you at least give me my bike?” A green and black motorcycle materialized in front of Shen. The digital world of Lyoko spread out before him, speeding by as he rode on. Today, he was in the glacial sector. The silvery digital sea flowed under massive, interconnected icy plateaus and crags. White, glowing towers dotted the landscape, serving as connection points to the main servers in the supercomputer’s core.

Shen reached the designated tower, and entered through the base. The deep blue walls flashed when it recognized him, and granted his passage to the top level. A translucent interface appeared on the upper platform and with a scan of his palm, began to run at full speed.

“Nice job. Looks like the program is running smoothly,” the tech said after a few moments. “You have some guests though, so don’t linger too long. Either kill them or run, just make it fast.”

“That I can do,” Shen responded. He left the tower and was greeted with a common sight. Three other digitalized warriors were fighting off the crabs, but soon turned their attention to him. “You guys are a bit late. It’s already done.”

“I told you this would happen!” a katana wielding woman exclaimed.

“Z, watch out!” the archer warned. The woman tried to dodge the ice beam from the block she was fighting but her leg had become frozen to the ground. She tried to break it lose, but did not see Shen using the crab as a jumping vantage point. He landed behind her and thrust his great sword into her back. With a sharp groan, her digital form disintegrated. Shen casually blocked several arrows, one of which was sent back to strike its sender, causing him to disappear also. The last fighter stood his ground for a while, but was soon overtaken by the trio of crabs.

“Told you that wouldn’t take long,” Shen remarked.

“Congrats, you are our big hero!” the scientist said sarcastically. “Get back here so we can go home already.”

“Pull your panties out of your ass! I am on my way.” He reached the rendezvous point, and his digital form faded away, Now back in the flesh, Shen stepped out of the scanner and walked through the open door into the decontamination chamber. This was his routine after every trip to Lyoko. He knew better than to fight or ask questions. He wouldn’t get any answers, so why waste his breath? In the chamber, a robotic arm holding a syringe was presented to Shen. A second arm grabbed his wrist and injected the neon green fluid. He winced at the sting, and felt it burn in his veins. He was use to the pain by now, but the first few doses he had received were enough to send him to his knees. He kept walking to another room where he laid down on the bed to rest and await his next orders.

While Shen was heading to bed, the lab was buzzing with activity. People in white coats were working on research and experiments while the pain grey uniforms of their android assistants milled around doing the bidding of the scientists. The unmistakable eye of XANA could be found on every screen and wall, keeping watch over its servants and acting as a reminder of who was really in charge. In the center on the upper level was a circular control station. Panels full of switches and screens lined the counters and walls. Beneath the control station, the life pods that served as the androids’ beds were placed. On the wall, there is an elevator leading down to the restricted areas where only a select few could enter. Erik and Tori, two of XANA’s scientists, were in the central office, trying to figure out why the schedule seemed a bit off.

“Erik, do you remember them changing things? He was not supposed to receive another injection this time,” Tori asked.

“No, as far as I know, he wasn’t due for that for at least a week or two,” Erik responded. “Great…watch what you say now, one of his android slaves is coming.”

The black-haired android entered the room and began to speak. “Master XANA has informed me to speak with you.”

“Just say it. We need to get back to work!” Tori snapped.

“He would like to remind you of the terms in your contract. The Vessel is the property of Master XANA. You two gave him direct permission to use the Vessel how he pleases. If you would like to reconsider your contract, a meeting can be arranged,” the robot said with a somehow dangerous sounding monotone.

“We work here like everyone else. Why were we not informed of Shen’s dose increase? We were promised he would be treated well,” Erik asked.

“Due to your familial relationship to the Vessel, you are on a need to know basis.”

“That doesn’t answer our question!” Tori exclaimed.

“It is unnecessary to raise your voice. You came up with dosing schedule yourself. We are simply following your notes. If you did the calculations right, you shouldn’t worry about his well-being. XANA wouldn’t dare harm his Vessel,” the android explained. “If you are in need of any more explanations, you can set up a meeting with Master XANA. I will fetch my companions to take the Vessel back to his home.”

“Hello, Erik, Tori. We will take Shen home now,” another android named Sarah reported.

“Fine. Take good care of him,” Erik responded.

“If you are as upset over this as you seem, maybe you shouldn’t have signed your own son’s life away just for a promotion,” one of the other scientists remarked.

“If you know what’s good for you, James, you will shut up and leave!” Tori shouted, a look of guilt overtaking her face.

“Ok. I will be sure to leave your ‘parents of the year’ award on your desk.” James left with a sneer and Tori stormed off. Erik watched as Sarah and Gareth, the two living cameras XANA uses to keep an eye on Shen, carried his son away.

“Can you believe him!” Tori vented as she joined her husband. “If he had any idea of what really happened, his tone would be different!” She waited for a response, but Erik just stood there, staring at the wall. “Hello! Do you even care that we are being left out of things? Don’t tell me you are ok with how they are treating our son!”

“Tori, why fight it? We can’t go back and change our minds. We let our cowardice and ambition ruin our family, and now we must deal with the consequences.”

“What are you saying?!?!” Tori asked incredulously.

“We could’ve said no and found work elsewhere. Now we are trapped, and if we even think of taking his Vessel away, we will be killed. We had the chance to fight for him, but instead we prioritized our jobs over his happiness!” Erik answered.

“That ‘vessel’ is our baby boy!! Don’t talk about him like he’s an experiment!” Her tears of rage were flowing freely now.

“If you feel that way, then why in the hell, did you and I, TOGETHER, decide to sign those damned papers?! James is right. We fucked up, and signed our son’s death certificate. I hear Sarah and Gareth talk. They say Shen’s hatred of us grows steadily, and I can’t blame him.”

“Erik, we were threatened with death if we didn’t sign! Even if we did decline, XANA would have found us, and taken Shen from us by force! Either way we were screwed over! At least this way, we can still keep an eye on him!”

“Keeping an eye on him….is that what you call this!? We are forced to watch and participate in his torment! We are not helping him here, we are making things worse! I am going home. See you there.”


	2. A Normal Life?

**Chapter 2: A Normal Life?**

A screeching alarm broke the silence, and Shen reached for the small device. A groan escaped his throat as he threw it across the room.

‘Another sleepless night, and another nightmare; how fucking wonderful,’ he thought.

He dragged his body up and slowly entered the kitchen of the apartment. His roommates, Sarah and Gareth were already up and starting to make breakfast.

“Oh god! Did you invite Frankenstein’s monster to stay the night, Sarah?” Gareth asked.

Shen flipped him off and poured a cup of coffee.

“Come on, give him a break. He is not a morning person,” Sarah said.

“That is an understatement. Are you ok? You look worse than normal.”

“If I could have one night without a nightmare, it’d be a miracle,” Shen responded as he angrily ate his eggs.

“Another one? Was it the same as before?” Sarah asked.

“Not exactly, but similar. The same creepy lab with the same green goop and weird eye symbol, but slightly different events,” Shen explained.

“These sound like scenes from a terrible sci-fi movie. Have you watched anything scary lately?” Gareth questioned.

“Dude, I have had the same dream for nearly 7 years now. It isn’t from a scary movie. If I had any extra money to spend, I’d see a sleep specialist or something.”

“Why don’t you ask your parents? They may know some people,” Sarah suggested.

“Yeah right! My parents stopped given any fucks about me a long time ago. If they cared at all, they would at least show some interest in helping me get my life together. The last time I tried to reach out, they interrupted me and told me I was being sent away to boarding school without any explanation as to why.”

“Yikes. I am sorry bro, that’s rough,” Gareth said.

“I think my nightmares may be connected to them, because there are always two scientists who look weirdly like them somewhere in the lab, but it’s just fuzzy enough so I can’t be sure.”

“I’ve seen weirder things happen,” Sarah commented. “Hurry up and finish, we need to go to work soon. Chad will not like it if we are late again.”

The three young adults arrived at EZ Movers and shortly left for the client’s home. The cartoon man on the side of the truck seemed to laugh at Shen as he climbed into the cab. He was stuck at this dead-end job, and only stayed so he could keep the roof over his head. He often complained that a trained ape could do this job, and lamented at how useless his life was since he was forcibly sent to a stuffy and strict boarding school. He put his headphones in and zoned out during the drive, thankful for the small bit of comfort his music granted.

“Yoohoo! We are here. It’s time to work.” Gareth woke him from his trance and they began to move the family’s boxes into the truck. He tried to ignore the feeling of jealousy as he watched the kids and dogs playing happily around them. Distracted by visions of what he once had, he looked down to see blood on his hands.

“Great. Hey, Sarah, where is that first aid kit? I got a cardboard-paper cut again.”

“It’s in the console. Be more careful!” She scolded.

He rummaged through the over-stuffed compartment and noticed something was off. The small smear of blood on his uniform was not red, but green like from his nightmare.

“What?” he asked out loud. He looked down at his finger and saw more bright green fluid mixed in with some red. “No….this must be my imagination!” His breath was coming faster as images from his dreams came back again, and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he had hoped to see red, but the green was still there.

“Shen, what is going on? It does not take this long to get a Band-Aid.” Gareth asked. “Whoa! Are you ok? You look like you are going to pass out!”

“Just….give me a moment. Did you spill some of your green apple candy earlier?” Shen asked hesitantly.

“I didn’t think so, but it’s not impossible. Why?”

“This neon mess, was it here before?”

“Probably, is this what has you all weird?” Gareth asked.

“I saw it come from my cut…like my blood was…no. No way. Blood is red!” Panic rose as he squeezed the tiny wound only to see more green fluid leak out. He cried out and began to shake and hyperventilate. If Sarah didn’t catch him, he would have fallen to the ground.

“Oh my god! Sit down, take a breath! Shen, do you hear me?” Sarah exclaimed. “We got the rest of this. Take a breather and drink some water. The other two finished the job and drove Shen home. He shut and locked his door after his friends left. His mind would not stop spinning, and soon he had an idea. Now that it had been a couple hours, he wondered if his blood would appear green still.

“Come on! It had to be my mind playing tricks on me, there is no other logical explanation,” he said to calm himself down. Once in his bathroom, he took his pocket knife and made a small cut on his wrist. “Fuck! Why is it green?!” He grasped his wrist and squeezed on it until the blood began to slowly turn red again, only stopping when the sickly neon color was gone. After bandaging the cut and cleaning up the sink, he opened the small liquor stash they had. He drank until he forgot his own name and passed out on the couch.


	3. The Real Work Begins

**Chapter 3: The Real Work Begins**

“Welcome. What do you have to report?” A deep and authoritative voice rang out. The eye of XANA flashed on the large screen in time to the words.

“Master XANA, we have news about your Vessel,” Gareth started.

“He still is experiencing nightmares, but there was an incident you need to know about,” Sarah continued.

“Speak then.”

“As you wish, sir. He received a small cut at work and saw the residue of the previous injection. After going through a severe panic attack, he proceeded to drink until he passed out. It seems he is becoming more aware and curious as to the nature of his nightmares,” Gareth explained.

“Thank you for the information. We will act accordingly. You may not be needed to play your current roles for much longer. I have another job for you two. My Vessel needs simmer in his anger a little more. Use anything you can to add fuel to the fire; the more painful, the better.” There was a hint of mischief and joy in the AI’s voice. The two androids left, and a signal was sent to Shen’s chamber.

The chime on the steel door sounded, awakening the captive warrior. He sat up and waited.

Two androids and a scientist came inside, and motioned for him to stand up. “Come with us.” Metal cuffs were placed on his wrists, and the two robotic forms stood on either side.

“Why the restraints? You know I will not resist,” Shen asked.

“We can’t take any chances. Now remain silent and follow me.” The group walked the sterile grey halls, pausing occasionally for the scientist to scan his badge at the terminals. Shen looked around with casual curiosity at the many complex looking machines they passed, wondering what purpose they would serve. Finally, they reached a huge door, and it slid open with a whishing sound. Several smaller rooms were inside, each with what looked like surgical tables in them. Shen began to feel uncomfortable as he saw the torso and head of a young man submerged in a tank of green fluid. His arms and lower half were gone, with wires and metal pieces jutting from the openings instead of flesh. On the table below the cylinder tank, another person was working on what seemed to be the remainder of the young man. Walking past the terrible sight, he gaped at what lay before him. Rows upon rows of others in similar conditions lined the walls. Shen tried to tell himself that they were simply lifelike robots, but the skin, hair, and eyes of these people looked a bit too real to be made of metal... He ignored the rising fear and let himself be led to a small exam room with a white table in the center.

“Shen! It is good to see you! We have been waiting for this day for a while, but now it is finally time to start the real work.” The elderly man was incredibly enthusiastic, and despite his reservations, Shen stayed quiet and let his many questions go unasked. “I know you may be anxious, but trust me, we will take good care of you. The reason you are here is to be outfitted with an upgrade. With it, you will be able to fight more efficiently and serve XANA in new ways. Lay down up here and we can start.” The androids helped to lower the table and before he could respond, strapped his legs to the flat surface. A strap was placed over his chest and his arms were tied down as well.

“Wait! What is going on?! Why are you doing this??” Shen began to panic as a large bag of the green solution was clipped to an IV. The burning sensations added to his fear, but soon his head was swimming, and his muscles stopped responding. A mask was placed on his face and soon, his world went dark.

The doctor pulled a tray up to him and went to work. With his struggling done, he released his left arm and turned it to where the palm was facing up. He made a long incision from the wrist to the elbow, and exposed the muscles beneath the skin. After several swift and practiced cuts to the flesh, the muscles were removed, leaving the bone and other tissues behind. Gloved hands grabbed a syringe from the tray and injected the silvery-black fluid into the bone, fusing the metal into it. The new cybernetic muscles were placed, leaving room for the upgrade at its core. The artificial organ, along with the injection, would greatly enhance Shen’s strength, essentially giving him a robotic arm without needing to fully amputate the limb. Tendons, blood vessels, and more were replaced with wires and artificial versions of the originals. Before closing the skin back up, a smaller cylinder containing a strong electrical weapon was inserted. Next, the doctor used a laser to modify the more delicate areas in Shen’s hand, and connected the whole system together with an override to give XANA ultimate control of the enhancement if Shen were to try and fight back with it. Smiling at his work, he cleaned up and moved the still unconscious man to his new quarters.


	4. The Truth?

**Chapter 4: The Truth?**

James entered Shen’s new room, and recorded his vital signs. He would wake up from sedation soon, so for his own protection, he placed chains on Shen’s wrists to keep him held down. Small moans came from the bed as the digital warrior finally stirred. His face warped in pain and anger as he noticed his restraints.

“Again?!” Shen growled.

“For your own protection, we need to keep you in one place,” James explained.

“How many times do I have to tell you that I will not try to run away or resist? Take them off!”

“I’m sorry, I cannot do that.”

“Fine. I’ll take them off myself. It’s time I get answers anyway.” Shen’s eyes glowed with emotion as he pulled at the chains until they snapped. He grabbed the length of chain hanging off of his wrist, and wrapped it around James’s neck. In a burst of energy, he dragged the other man out into the hallway and kicked him to the ground. The elderly surgeon ran up to Shen and managed to free James, but did not see his arm swing around in time to dodge the attack. Shen’s fist and the metal shackle smashed into his head. Before he hit the ground, Shen’s new metal left hand landed a solid blow to his face. Blood spurted out as the doctor’s nose was shattered. His body hit the ground with a heavy thud and stopped moving. Alarms were blaring as other staff members and androids rushed to the scene. James tried one last time to subdue the young man, but was met with a large blast of electricity and collapsed like a ragdoll.

Shen stood in his hospital gown, with bloody restraints, as he was surrounded. Clenching his fist, and letting more sparks fly from his hand, his enraged eyes held everyone back like an invisible forcefield. The alarms stopped ringing, and a deathly silence filled the space. A green eye of XANA appeared on the nearby screen and the AI’s voice rang out.

“Leave the vessel alone. Let him explain. I’m sure he has a good reason for this.”

“I need answers. You are going to give them to me!” Shen demanded.

“There are things you are not authorized to know. if you want to discuss anything in detail you can set up a meeting with Mas-“ The android was interrupted by a knife to the throat and a ball of electricity shorting its circuits. The gather audience looked on as the now dead robot fell to the ground.

“Don’t act like you give and fucks about them! Losing one of your pathetic, brainwashed slaves is not a huge deal considering you have dozens more being built under our feet as we speak! I do not need a meeting with ‘Master XANA’ when he is already here.”

“Tell us what you want,” the calm voice of XANA inquired.

“What did you do to me? What is that green shit you shove into me at every chance you get? What is my purpose here? I could go on for a while,” Shen answered.

“I can give you some answers, but not all of the answers.”

“Obviously.” Shen looked directly into the screen and continued. “I know my place. I am a soldier, a security guard, and recently a messenger boy. I don’t want or expect to understand every little thing these faceless white coats are doing on their computers. I have no desire to dig into every detail of your plan for world domination, or whatever it is. I simply want to know what is going on with my own body. I have the right to that at least, just like your androids did before you tore them to shreds and rebuilt them as mindless idiots.”

“You are right. What do you know already? I can fill in some gaps,” XANA responded.

Shen sighed in relief and spoke again, ignoring the pained looks on Erik and Tori’s faces. “I may not be a computer genius or a sentient AI, but I am not stupid. That green goop has done something to me. After each injection, I feel physically stronger. It is clear now that when I was dragged in unnecessary bonds through the creepy lab from every sci-fi movie ever, it was to be given this new weapon. Did you do anything else to me while I was under?”

“The injections you receive are indeed making you stronger and increasing your endurance. They are preparing your body to become a vessel for me when the time is right. A human body is too weak to withstand my full power, so some modifications are needed. The new arm is a weapon for you to use to combat the strength of our enemies, and no, we did not do anything else.”

“So, that is why I am called ‘precious vessel’ way too often. Why do you need me? You seem strong enough as it is.”

“I can do a lot as I am, but some things I have planned require a solid physical form. You passed our tests, and you agreed to move forward with my plan when you came here all those years ago,” XANA explained.

“If you want to keep me willing, then show me the respect I have earned. Keep me informed of what is going to happen to my body, and tell me what I need to know as your front-line warrior. If you do that, I will stay loyal. If you continue to deceive and treat me like shit, I will not hesitate to destroy your _‘previous vessel’_ beyond repair, no matter how much cybernetic bullshit you try to shove into my skin.” Shen accentuated his point by placing the knife to his own throat, just a hair away from the skin. The tension was thick, and even XANA seemed to be caught off guard by the young man’s actions.

“You have a deal. We will get your consent before any procedures are done. If anyone tries to hurt or disrespect you, there will be dire consequences. There are less humane ways to transform you into my vessel, but as long as you hold up your end of the deal, none of that is needed.”

“I understand. Where are my clothes? I’d like to change and get some rest,” Shen asked.

A nervous looking android held out a bundle of cloth and his broken chains were removed. James softy groaned as he was carried away. The doctor was not as lucky. The inhuman power in Shen’s hits were enough to snap his neck, and cause an internal rupture in his artery. The dead man was also taken to another room, and Shen went to his on chamber. The small room was plain, with white walls and floors. A full-size bed with a dark grey comforter was in the corner, and to the left was an equally plain nightstand. A dresser and mirror were on the opposite side of the room, leading to a small bathroom with yet more white and grey accents. His black and neon green slacks and long-sleeve shirt seemed to overwhelm the space. Shen lay down in the bed and stared at the ceiling. He was happy to get some answers, and did enjoy seeing that creepy doctor die, but there was a shadow of doubt he couldn’t quite ignore. Were they really telling him the full truth? What was XANA’s end goal, and why did he need a human form to reach it? He zoned out, vowing to keep a closer eye on things in the future.


	5. An Unexpected Visit

**Chapter 5: An Unexpected Visit**

“Wow, are you actually smiling?” Gareth asked incredulously.

Shen rolled his eyes and continued preparing his microwaveable mac and cheese; the true meal of champions. “It is a wonder what some venting and a day off can do. I did have yet another nightmare. Still not fun, but not as traumatic as before.”

“Any more green blood?” Sarah asked.

“Geez! Can’t a guy have a panic attack without being made fun of for it?” Shen said. His roommates looked at each other knowingly, and a sense of fear grew in his gut. That expression was dangerous. What are they planning?

“Just joking dude! Let’s get ready to go. If we don’t get more food in here, I think we will go broke from all the eating out.” Gareth walked off to get dressed for the store.

“Ugh! I hate grocery shopping!” Shen complained. “Too many people, and too much temptation.”

While his friends argued over which soda to buy, Shen wandered in the electronics section. The cover of a new horror flick caught his eye, and in an instant, he felt pure rage take over. The image of the old mad scientist on the case brought him back to his latest dream, strange feelings resting just under the surface. It was then he noticed the promotional poster on the display. The setting seemed familiar, but why? He had never been inside a secret underground lab before, let alone one with robot servants and bodies suspended in weird tube things. He put the DVD down and tried to calm his nerves.

“Maybe I need to see about getting some help…these sensations and anxiety attacks are getting to be a real problem,” he mumbled out loud.

He walked in a daze for an indeterminate amount of time, still trying to sort through his wild thoughts.

“There he is!” a familiar voice called from behind.

“Why is he over here?” the other voice asked. A hand was placed on Shen’s shoulder and he jumped in shock, nearly knocking over a display of small paint cans.

“You choose the weirdest times to zone out. Come on, if we don’t go soon, the ice cream will melt.” They all left and drove home. Sarah and Gareth nodded once they saw Shen was once again in the clouds. Their plan was to take effect later the same night.

“What the fuck are you doing here?!?!” Shen screamed at the unexpected visitors. His parents stood in the doorway, stunned and unable to pull their eyes up from the floor.

“C-can we come in?” his mother, Tori Napier, asked hesitantly. Shen was about to shut the door in their faces, but a stern look from Sarah caused him to reconsider. He gestured for them to come in and continued to glare at them from a distance.

“It has been a long time. How are you guys?” Gareth asked them.

“Oh, you know…work. Nothing too exciting to speak of,” Shen’s father, Erik, said. The awkward atmosphere was suffocating, and the two older adults shifted in their seats as Sarah handed them coffee cups and made small talk. Shen was visibly shaking and getting more and more angry with everything. ‘How could they entertain this whole fucking mess when they know how I feel??’ he thought to himself. What felt like an eternity later, his mother spoke up.

“I am surprised you still have this.” She was looking at a picture on the wall of him as a kid. The young boy in the image had messy black hair, a red and black soccer jersey, and was sitting between Tori and Erik with a brilliant grin. The image of the perfect family he once had mocked him every time he passed it, but something prevented him from taking it down.

“It is the only reminder I kept from when you actually cared for me. I have been trying to get rid of it for years, but something blocks me every time I consider it.” His words were full of venom.

“Shen! That is unnecessary!” Sarah scolded.

“SHUT UP!!! You have no clue how it feels to have loving parents for 16 years, and then have it ripped away like it never existed! If they were negligent assholes from the start, it may have been easier to get over! They pulled the rug and safety net from underneath me without warning, and plunged my life into misery! If letting them in here was your attempt at trying to get me to forgive them then you failed miserably!” Shen grabbed his pocket knife and stabbed the picture frame with all his strength. Glass went flying and the walls shook. Looking his parents in the eye, he grabbed the picture and ripped it to shreds, letting the pieces fall onto the broken frame before storming off.

Gareth’s expression of shock fell into a smile as he nodded at Sarah.

“We will clean up here. You should get going before it’s too late. See you at work,” he said to Tori and Erik with a small smirk of victory.

“What the hell? You lied to us! What is going on??” Erik asked.

“We are loyal to Master XANA. He asked us to use everything at our disposal to do our job, and that is what we did. The Vessel needs to give up all meaningful connections to his normal life if he is to develop properly. You should be proud. Your son is going to hold a place of great honor and power once Master XANA has completed his objective.” The sinister monotone of Sarah’s undisguised voice sent shivers down their spines, and with a defeated sigh, they fled.


	6. Interference

**Chapter 6: Interference**

Shen was sitting in his room reading one of his favorite books. He needed the stress relief after receiving yet another injection. The extra strength he had gained was paying off in many ways, but the side effects were very uncomfortable. Also, two of the scientists had been creepily watching him more closely lately, and it was starting to get on his nerves. They seemed familiar to him for some reason, but he couldn’t recall exactly why. A few moments later, the shrill alarm startled him out of his fantasy land. He groaned and started to head for the scanners. He knew what this meant; the three musketeers were on the move again. People rushed around in a panic and took their spots.

“Good to see you Shen. Get ready for a trip to the mountains,” someone told him over the intercom.

“Understood. Anything else I should know?” Shen asked.

“Those annoying brats are trying to destroy one of the energy beacons you helped us set up earlier. We need to stop them at all costs. Your bike will be waiting for you when you get there.” Shen stepped into the scanner, and soon heard the whirring of the machinery. He was enveloped in a bright light before landing like a cat on a suspended path leading to a large mountain.

“I am in. Everything seems fine. I’d like to have some assistance here just in case they decide to team up on me,” Shen reported.

“A swarm of hornets and roaches are on the way. We will try to catch them off guard to give you a better chance.”

“Thanks.” Shen sped around the mountain and saw the red halo of the active tower. As he got closer, he began to hear the sound of his opponents talking and fighting off the monsters already.

‘Show time!’ Shen thought as he took a side path. The biggest physical threat of the group was on the left, so he veered that way, and leapt off his motorcycle, doing a flip to avoid several arrows from the perch cut into the nearest cliff. The vehicle continued forward and slammed into the dark-skinned swordsman, sending him off the edge. As he blocked more arrows, the woman he now knew was called Z, ran over and pulled her partner up from the ledge.

“Nice reflexes! Try and dodge this!” Shen exclaimed as he sent a massive wave of electricity their direction. Z gasped and rolled out of the way, but the man was sent over the cliff again, disintegrating into nothing. Z stared at him in shock, pulling her katanas out and sprinting toward him. He was so focused on her that he ended up getting hit by two arrows. He groaned as his digital form wavered and was sent flying backward. Her blades almost hit him when he was down, but a hornet swooped in to shoot it out of her hand. Before he could make his next move, a searing pain kept him on his knees.

“Gah! What the hell??” He used his arm to cast a temporary shield. As he was trying to get back up, he felt a strong feedback from his comms. “Shen to Control! What is going on? I have some strange interference on my end. Hello? Can you hear me Control!?”

Shen waited for a response when he heard a new voice cutting in and out from the distance. “Meet me…not…..help….work fo…Shen….nswers…please!”

“Shen! Can you hear us?” a familiar angry toned man asked.

“Finally! Yes, I can hear you. There was a lot of fuzzy shit going on. Our communication was interrupted for a bit there I think,” Shen answered.

“We are working on fixing and tracing the source now, just focus on defending the post for now.” Shen stood up with help from his great sword and teamed up with the roaches to take out Z, while the remaining hornets flew toward the archer. Eventually, the monsters were gone, leaving Shen and Z alone to duel. Shen used his more powerful attacks and his weaponized left arm to attack and counter her more agile form. She danced around him, barely dodging his attacks. A scream and thud came from the distance, signaling that the pesky sniper had fallen to his doom. While Shen was distracted, Z took advantage of the situation and swung her blade into his neck. He cried out and started to disappear, but managed to land one last killing blow.

**_Meanwhile_ **

_Surrounded by the same dark walls he has been in for who knows how many years, a fourth digital being feverishly worked on multiple interfaces. “Finally!” He started a broadcast over the channel he opened up. The connection was fragile and weak, but it was more than what he had been able to do for a long time. “Meet me in the ice sector cave systems when you can! I am not an enemy. I want to help! You have no idea who you really work for, Shen! I can give you the real answers, just come find me please!” The channel collapsed, and the brown-haired young man closed up his work station. After potentially exposing himself just now, he had to wait before trying to reach out again. All he could do is hope his message was heard._

The steel doors of the scanner opened up, and Shen nearly fell out. He tried to compose himself quickly and walked toward the command center. It was different from his normal routine, but with the issues he experienced, he wanted to report it immediately. He heard XANA speaking with more intensity than he had ever heard and stepped inside the room.

“I have my team working on tracing the signal. All systems seem to be working fine after we did a thorough check, so it was likely from a totally separate source,” the white coat explained.

“Keep me informed. I will do my own backups to ensure nothing was compromised. Come in Shen,” XANA said as the scientist scurried away. “I am still going over the data collected from your fight today. Tell me everything you felt on your side.”

“The fight itself was a closer match than I am usually comfortable with, but it was still successful. The expected sting of being hit by the arrows stunned me for a moment. Right after, a surge of energy ran through my comms, and I couldn’t hear you guys anymore. After a few moments, I did faintly hear some broken and unintelligible words, which was likely you trying to reconnect with me. Suddenly, things went back to normal, and you know the rest,” Shen explained.

“Thank you. We will continue to investigate this. Go clean up and await further instructions.”

“Of course. Call me if you need anything.” Shen left, still trying to decipher what that strange voice was saying. Was is just the distorted tone of someone here, or was it someone else? He got the weird feeling of being watched as he remembered that whoever it was knew his name. If someone outside this lab knew that, then things may be worse than they seem on the surface.


	7. Viuses and Deja Vu

**Chapter 7: Viruses and Déjà vu**

Shen woke up to his alarm, still beyond pissed off at his friends. He strode to the kitchen, totally ignoring their greetings, before taking breakfast to his room.

“Someone is in a mood,” Sarah grumbled.

“Really? Are you shocked? I’d be pissed at us if I was him. We tried, and now we must deal with the consequences,” Gareth retorted. After giving him a few hours to settle, they knocked on his door.

“Hey, are you ok?” Sarah asked.

“What, the actual fuck, do you think?” Shen threw the door open, and glared at her, still shaking with rage. “You betrayed my trust, destroyed what little hope I had left at having a family again, and dare to ask if I am ok?!?!”

“We are sorry! We were trying to help you, and things got out of hand,” Gareth apologized.

“I cannot accept that apology! Tell me. How did you get their contact information? I never gave it to you or even told you their names.”

“Um…I looked in your computer when you were in the shower…” The two backed away from the door slowly when they heard a growl come from Shen’s throat.

“If I had the funds to move away, I would leave right now! We agreed that our rooms are our own spaces, and we all would respect each other’s privacy. If you do not get out of my sight, I may do something rash. For your own health, GET OUT NOW!” Shen raged. The others quickly grabbed their bags and left.

After punching the wall hard enough to leave a huge dent, Shen sat down with some chips and deleted all his family’s contact information. Sighing with relief, he then opened up the internet to drown his emotions in stupid videos. About an hour later, his screen turned black.

“Of course! Why wouldn’t this happen now?” He made sure it was plugged in, and restarted the laptop. Once it was back on, he found that he couldn’t click on anything. He took in a deep breath and counted to ten. After one more restart, things seemed to be working, until a black pop up appeared. A faded and garbled voice came through the speakers. His eyes widened when he heard it say his name. The tone it had felt familiar somehow, and even some of the cut-up words brought up a strong feeling of dread and déjà vu. He quickly shut the computer down a third time and ran an antivirus program. The longest ten minutes of his life led to a weirdly high level of relief when he saw everything working as it should finally. Shen spent the rest of the day trying to calm down and forget the creepy voice. What type of virus was that? How did it know his name? No matter how much he distracted himself, he still had the feeling that something was wrong; almost like he was being watched. He locked his door to keep his peeping ‘friends’ out and went to sleep, hoping these feelings wouldn’t translate into another nightmare.

The next day, Sarah and Gareth sat in the kitchen waiting to catch Shen in a small conversation if only for a moment. With a groan and yawn his door opened. Still half asleep, he shambled to the coffee pot while ignoring the looks of guilt and concern his roommates were giving him.

“Are you going to ignore us forever?” Sarah asked.

“Nope.”

“So…” she started off.

Shen sighed deeply and turned around to face her. “Look. You fucked up, and now until further notice, I don’t consider you guys my friends anymore. If you were, the idea of invading my privacy would have never crossed your mind. I am mature enough to know that I deserve better. I can be civil and coexist with you, but anything beyond basic respect and roommate etiquette is done.” His words held a chaotic mixture of sadness, anger, and exhaustion.

“Come on, isn’t it the thought that matters? Why are you still so angry? We were trying to help!” Gareth inquired.

“How would you feel if I looked at the most personal files on your laptop, and used the information to bring up old and painful memories without your consent?” They were silent, and turned their eyes to the floor. “Your silence tells more than words could. I am off to work. If either of you go near my things when I am gone, it will be difficult to keep from giving out a few black eyes. Respect me, and I will respect you.”


	8. Setting the Stage

**Chapter 8: Setting the Stage**

Shen was getting restless, so he decided to take a walk around the lab. Looks of fear and scowls of annoyance came onto the faces of the employees as he went by. His outburst after receiving his upgrade had given him a reputation as being quite a hothead. He willingly would admit he does have some anger issues, but they seemed to stem from his response to suddenly losing everyone and everything right at the pinnacle of teen angst. Vulnerability and deep emotions were terrifying territory he avoided at all costs, and the resulting permanent face of indifference didn’t help his outward image. James and Bella, another scientist, came up to him as he neared the control room.

“Shen, perfect timing! You are needed upstairs with the others,” Bella said.

“I’ll head up, but I am confused. Why do they need me?”

“Tch! You are not the only one asking that,” James snapped.

“Why don’t you look me in the eyes and say that again? Are you scared of me or something?” Shen retorted.

“Scared?? Hah! I am more scared of spiders than brats like you!”

“I hate to remind you, but this ‘brat’ almost killed you without breaking a sweat. The only reason you are still alive is because I don’t wish to anger XANA. At least I had the courage to stand up for my freedom, unlike you. I see you cower in pathetic awe and fear at anyone higher than you!”

“You seriously think you have freedom!? You are a priso-“

“JAMES!!” Bella cut him off. “Don’t you have work to do?” She practically shoved him away, and continued to speak to Shen. “You two really don’t get along.”

“It started long before my upgrade. We simply have two personalities that do not mix well. If it’s not too much to ask, can I request you or someone else to look after my schedule instead? It is not best for us or our work if we keep butting heads like this.”

“I can see what we can do. Now, go the control room.”

Shen nodded and climbed the small staircase and entered the room. All eyes moved to him and XANA’s voice boomed out over the silence.

“Take a seat. Some of this will go over your head, but we will be going over our next move soon, so stay attentive.” The AI continued to spout off absurdly large words while everyone else took notes and joined the conversation with more incomprehensible lingo. Shen’s increasingly heavy eyelids hoped the part he needed was coming soon, so he could zone out again.

Bella nudged him back to consciousness right as the next mission briefing began. XANA started speaking again, this time in English. “What progress have we made in finding the origin of the interference from last month?”

“We tried to trace it, but it was moving in such random directions, that no point of origin could be found. In addition, the channel it opened up died out, leaving no trace behind. We are honestly stumped as to where it came from or who created it,” a man Shen didn’t know by name responded.

“I have also checked all of my own systems and found no leads or damage left behind. It seems the signal was trying to make contact with someone or something here, but the audio is too distorted to decipher. If it reappears, you all need to be ready to jump on it right away.” Everyone in the room acknowledged XANA’s request, and he continued. “Thanks to Shen’s efforts on Lyoko, we have more than enough energy to start on the next phase. Even if we lose a tower or two, the connection should stay stable. As is common knowledge to most of you, I am limited to the main computer and the network it runs. It is imperative for me to be able to roam more freely. I plan on using the internet itself to spread my efforts out, and if your calculations are accurate, our success should increase exponentially. You all did your work, but now, it is Shen’s turn.”

“What do you need me to do?” Shen asked.

“The first step is reconnaissance. The binds keeping me prisoner in Lyoko can be accessed and studied through the central sector and the corresponding Way Towers. What you need to do is take the work of your colleagues to these connection points, and use it scan for a potential method to free me. From there, we can discuss a more long-term action plan.”

“That is doable, but offers my three friends and our mystery hacker plenty of time to sabotage our efforts. I may be strong, but you know they are too. They have won nearly as many battles as myself and your creatures over the years. In the worst-case scenario, this could be four separate trips, with each one posing more and more of a risk.”

“So, the brat has some brains after all?” James scoffed.

“If you keep treating my Vessel with such disrespect, you and I will need to go over your terms of employment.” The dark tones in the AI’s voice caused the angry scientist to shrink into his seat. “In a few hours, we will start with the desert sector. Listen for the overhead announcement. You are all dismissed.”


	9. Too Good to be True

**Chapter 9: Too Good to be True**

Shen paced around, waiting impatiently for the scanner to be ready for him. The familiar chiming sound finally rang out, and he stepped into the machine. Putting his sword on his back, he climbed on his bike and drove off across the digital sand.

“You are on the right path. Take a left at the fork ahead and you should see the objective in the distance,” Bella said.

“Got it. I’ll keep an eye out for any trouble on my way. Watch my back, and we can get this done quick.” Shen let himself relax, and enjoy the freeing feeling of riding through the open air. He saw a set of crags and inclines in front of him and got an idea. If he had to drive all this way, he may as well take the fun route. He revved up the engine and used a natural ramp to jump over the gap. He landed easily and laughed with exhilaration. “Hell yeah! I forgot how fun this is!” He could feel the sighs of the scientists at his outburst, but he didn’t care. He found the fork Bella mentioned, but decided on a bumpier shortcut. Using the cliff walls, he drifted along the almost circular turn and floored it. The next path was below the one he was currently on, and he had an idea about how to get down. The bike was still moving forward, and he jumped off as it fell from the edge of the upper path. With a showy backflip, he managed to land on the seat again and continue driving. Adrenaline flowed and he genuinely smiled as he skid to a halt in front of the Way Tower. “Holy shit, I really needed that! What exactly do you need me to do?”

“The program is already installed, it just needs you to go in and activate it,” Bella responded. He used his code to start the process, and waited inside the tower.

“Have you seen any sign of company yet? It is weird for them to be this delayed.”

“Nothing yet, but keep your eyes open. If the hacker is working with them, they may be capable of more stealth than we initially thought. XANA sent his creatures there to be your guards just in case.”

Shen left the tower when it was done running and noticed two tanks and two hounds waiting nearby. “Wow. Calling on the big guns this time, huh?”

“Yes. This is a very important mission, and he wants to be able to take them out faster than normal if they decide to show up.”

Shen used the same tower to move to the forest sector next. The terrain here was not as accessible by bike, so XANA sent a squad of crabs to carry him faster. He laid on one of their shells, watching the treetops fly by. He tried to keep up his previously relaxed state, but instead was growing anxious. Where were they? He wasn’t upset at them not making his job more difficult, but this is just too far from normal to ignore. He focused on the sound of the crabs maneuvering their way through the trees, and before he knew it, they had arrived. The second sector was done, and he moved to the mountains. The uneasy feeling stayed with him, and only grew as he arrived at the third tower without a single sign of the trio. Were they planning something? Are they spying on him now? After the program was started, he broke down and voiced his concerns.

“Shen to Control. I can’t be the only one seriously freaked out by this. Things are going too well, and I can’t shake the feeling of being watched.”

James’s voice cut in with another snide remark. “You are being watched. XANA’s creatures and us are keeping an eye on your every move. Get used to it.”

“I am used to it. This feels much different than normal. It almost seems like a transient, ghostly form is following me. Besides, you know as well as I do that our enemy likes to show up less than a minute after I get here every time. It has been a few hours now,” Shen responded.

“We agree, and are keeping a closer eye than normal, but haven’t seen anything yet. You are not the only one feeling that way. Even James is; not that he’d ever admit it out loud,” Bella said. “Let’s just finish this and we can investigate more later. The ice sector is next.”

Shen was anxious before, but when he arrived in the realm of digital ice, it increased to near panic. This was not just his imagination!

“Shen to Control again. Something is very off here. Right when I set foot out of the tower, I felt a panic attack coming up. My intuition is screaming at me. I know there is a reason for this, and I am not excited to find out what it is.”

“XANA is sending a large squad of helpers to comb the whole sector for any sign of trouble. Take the shortcut through the ice caves. The sooner you get back here the better,” James said, for once without attitude. Maybe he really was feeling the same thing to a certain extent. Shen rode to the cave entrance and carefully wound his way through the slippery maze. He made it to the halfway point, and stopped to calm his mind. The next part was essentially an ice slide, followed by a deep hole that he had nearly fallen into many times when trying to outrun his opponents. He had to have steady feet if he was to avoid the plunge. Waling up to the beginning of it, he was assaulted by a sudden massive headache.

“AH! Ouch! Whoa….not here please!”

“Shen, are you ok?” a new voice asked. He barely heard the question. His head was spinning and the ground began to sway. Before his knees gave out, he sat down a little bit further from the edge.

“No. I am not ok….the world is spinning, and I feel so weak. What is going on?” His voice was small and raspy.

“I don’t know. Try and get to a tower so we can check you out. You are not far from your objective.” Shen tried to get up, but lost his footing. He used his sword to get some traction and barely saved himself from falling.

“Nggh! Fuck…I can’t hold on!” The strength in his hands faded away, and he let go of his blade, sending it down the cave. Somehow, he managed to not follow right behind it, and soon heard a clank at the bottom of the chasm. He lay on the edge of the drop, trying to stop his body from shaking. Right when his vision seemed to be stabilizing, a rush of pain caused him to cry out. The involuntary movement caused by the jolt, pushed him over the edge. Screaming and panicking, he slid down the caves and became even dizzier due to the many sharp turns. Using what little energy he had left, he tried to land on the platform in the middle, but missed. A strangled gasp left his throat when his back slammed into the wall. The world around him became darker as he fell, and with a sickening thud, landed on his left side, immediately blacking out on impact.

“SHEN!” Tori called out as they lost contact with him.

XANA’s voice came over the lab. “Use the remote devirtualization now. Abort mission!”

The employees rushed to obey.

“Sir…we can’t! The program is not working, it must be bugged!” Erik said.

“I am sending some flying hornets to get eyes on him. The rest of you, fix it as soon as possible, and check to see if the hacker is back!

“Oh god! Can you…can you hear me?” Shen opened his eyes to see another young man in front of him. That voice? Could it be…?

“Who are you?” Shen asked.

“Thank god!” he sighed. “I don’t have much time before they pull you back, so let me talk now and I will answer your questions later.” Shen’s aching head stopped him from responding, so the brown-haired person continued. “You are being used. XANA does not care for you! He will throw you out like trash once you are no longer useful, just like he did to me and all the others. The androids you see around the lab used to be humans with dreams and lives, but were labeled as failed experiments and turned into slaves. I see your doubt and frustration with them, so please just give me a chance to tell you the other side of their story! We are working to defeat XANA and free the world from his control. If he wins, all of humanity loses. No one, not even XANA himself, can see or hear us, so no matter how much they dig in your mind, this information is safe. Don’t tell anyone about this! Meet me at the location in the images I am going to send you in a moment. I will head there and wait for you. I will only initiate contact if it is safe, so it may be some time before I see you again. Be patient, and I promise you will have the information you deserve! I hope to see you soon.” Pictures of an alcove in the ice sector burned into his mind, along with the strange man’s words.

“Sir, we got it! Starting the remote return now!” Bella called out when she finally revived the program. Anticipation was thick in the air, as Bella, Tori, and Erik rushed to the scanners. A few long moments later, the doors opened, revealing a collapsed Shen on the ground. Tori reach out to carry him to his room. Her hand made contact with his left side, and he gasped in sheer agony. His throat was torn to shreds and ragged breaths racked his body. Fresh tears began to fall as he returned to consciousness. Shen’s left arm was bruised and likely broken. His parents could only imagine what other internal damage was done. The doctors came in with a sedative/painkiller, and carefully moved him to his chamber. Hours passed, and his vitals were finally stable. He had sustained a broken arm and several broken ribs from the fall. His whole left side was dotted with black and purple bruises.

When he woke up and got some food in his system, Bella came in. The eye of XANA appeared on the screen, alerting Shen to the AI’s presence. He noticed the slight burn of yet another IV bag of green fluid begin dripped into his right arm.

“You scared us for a while there. I am glad to see you ok,” Bella said.

“It is good to see you awake. We just have some questions for you and you can get back to healing,” XANA added.

Shen nodded in response.

“Tell us what you saw and felt from the first symptom to blacking out. We are trying to see if this was another attempt by the hacker to make contact through you,” Bella asked.

“Half way through the cave system, I began to feel dizzy. The headache and weakness followed shortly after. I didn’t hear any voices or see anything besides the ice surrounding me. It got worse, and I lost grip on my sword. It fell, and after a particularly strong wave of dizziness and pain, I did as well. I felt my back slam into a wall, and then nothing but the sensation of falling before everything went dark. The next thing I knew, my body was screaming in pain inside the scanner.” Shen’s voice was barely a whisper at the end of his explanation.

“It seems that if this was an attempt to communicate, your symptoms were too severe to actually receive any messages. Does that sound plausible?”

“It does. We will investigate this fully, just to be sure. Thank you, Shen. Rest up, and if you need anything don’t hesitate to call us,” XANA said. Now alone, Shen was left to wonder about the words the stranger left with him after he fell. He had a feeling about the origin of the androids already, but could XANA really be the villain? He had been nothing but kind to him when the whole world seemed to do the opposite. The drugs took over soon, and he fell into a restless sleep.


	10. Burning Questions Part 1

**Chapter 10: Burning Questions Part 1**

Shen had requested to limit the times he was to work with either one of his roommates, and thankfully, Chad was doing as he had asked. The other people he was with today were total strangers, and he was more than ok with it. They drove the vans up the long, winding driveway to a quite beautiful home perched on top of a steep hill. The job was not too difficult, but he was afflicted with severe jealousy the whole time. It is only natural for someone like him, who lives in a shitty apartment to fantasize about owning such a home someday. He wheeled in another stack of boxes and followed the husband to a small room at the end of a long hallway. He stared in awe at the stunning traditional Japanese décor. The wife was already in there, packing up the more delicate and rare treasures. His eyes fell to a pair of ornately embellished katanas hanging on the wall. He admired their craftsmanship, but the sensation of uncomfortable déjà vu came roaring back. Flash images of similar swords being used to attack him caused him to freeze in fear. He had never even seen a sword of that type used in combat before, so why did he have such a reaction? His trance was broken by a female voice.  
“Ah, I forgot those! I will get the cases for them so you can carry them to the van,” she said. Shen nodded and started to prep the furniture, when she returned. He lightly gasped when he saw her long blonde hair and deep brown eyes. She looked familiar; like the woman wielding the blades in the images he had just seen. For some reason, the name or nickname, ‘Z’, was coming to mind.

“Are you ok?” she asked.

“I just have a headache. I’ll take some medicine soon,” he lied. Internally, he was panicking, trying to figure out why these foreign memories seemed so familiar.

After the job was done, the couple offered them some drinks on their deck. The group small talked for a bit, and Shen went toward the edge of the sheer drop to take in the view. Taking in a deep breath, he looked down. A sudden jolt of fear and pain in his left side. He somehow managed to stay upright, and backed away from the drop. Now he was getting pissed.

“I am not scared of heights…what the fuck is going on??” he quietly said to himself. It felt like he had been stabbed in the chest, and his skin was sensitive to the touch, as if he had a large bruise. Much to his hidden delight, they soon left to drop their loads off at the couple’s new house. He was drenched in sweat as the last boxes were carried inside. He had shoved away the disturbing feelings for a while, but they came back up stronger than ever when his coworkers began debating if they would be willing to give up parts of their humanity for android parts. One was all for it, citing the superpowers they could gain, while the other kept saying such a thing was unnatural and should be avoided.

‘It’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Trust me,’ he thought in response, looking at his left hand with a sour expression. He numbly noted his peculiar words, wondering where they came from. Why did he think that right away, it’s not like he has any personal experience with robot body parts. With one last internal effort, he finally was able to focus on something besides the desperate burning questions he had with no answers in sight. It was not easy, but very necessary to keep his roommates from asking questions.


	11. Burning Questions Part 2

**Chapter 11: Burning Questions Part 2**

“I have told you all I know. I heard nothing besides my own groans and pain. I saw nothing except the fuzzy and violently spinning environment around me. How many times do you need to ask?” Shen asked with annoyance clear in his words.

“We just need to be sure. Nothing like that has happened before, so it’s best to-“

“Be safe rather than sorry? If I can predict your words before you say them, maybe you are being too repetitive. You have probed my fucking brain, and found nothing contradicting what I have said. If the ultimate lie detector test came back clean, I’d say it’s time to move onto the next thing, and stop chasing something that isn’t there.” The white coat left finally, and Shen was left to ponder the questions the digital stranger prompted. He had a mix of dread and excitement for what he could learn when they meet again. It could be a huge trap, or the only chance for him to learn the real truth. He went along with what XANA and the scientists said, but he could not ignore the fact that whenever he asked for evidence to prove their statements, they quickly changed the subject or told him the information was classified. Another curious development was the new and very strong rage he felt toward two of the scientists. He had learned their names were Tori and Erik, but besides sharing the same space with them, he has never had a conversation with them. He may not be the most friendly guy at times, but it was strange to have such intense emotions about complete strangers. Countless questions burned in his mind as he laid down to watch TV.

The next few weeks were full of nothing but routine tests, boredom, doctor visits, boredom, meetings, and still more boredom. After Shen’s episode in the ice cave, they were being careful with him, and from what he could tell, doing very intensive checks on Lyoko’s core programs. He was able to watch nearly all of the most recent binge-worthy shows, and reread all his books. They were the only thing keeping him from going genuinely insane. Sometimes a break is nice, but restlessness was beginning to be a problem. Eventually, he was called to Lyoko again to see if he still felt the same sensation of being watched. He slowly rode around, sensing everything to be normal again. In the distance, he saw the icy crag from the vision he had been given, and made a mental note of exactly where it was. He drove by it and barely concealed a double take. He swore he saw a flash of brown hair…was he really in there? It looked empty. Shen figured if he really was good enough to keep XANA from hearing their earlier encounter, it wasn’t too far of a stretch to assume he could hide in plain sight.

“All clear here. I feel nothing out of the ordinary,” Shen reported.

“Ok. We will bring you in.” After yet another check of his vitals and an injection of more mystery green fluid, he went back to being bored.


	12. Answers and Alliances

**Chapter 12: Answers and Alliances**

XANA was becoming paranoid. He sent Shen on many seemingly fruitless and unnecessary missions, and there was a new tension in the air. The employees were all getting annoyed by their digital boss, but were rightfully afraid to say or show it. Suppressing an exasperated sigh, Bella went to fetch Shen.

“Hey, Shen. You are needed in the scanner room,” she said.

“I literally just got back! What on earth is it now? Does he have another ‘gut feeling’ or something?” Shen grumbled.

“Yes, but he is having you temporarily move to Lyoko so you can keep a constant eye on things more directly than we can.”

“For how long? If he is taking this type of action, it seems he is expecting something big to happen.”

“Perhaps. He hasn’t even told all of us the whole story. Follow me,” she directed.

Shen stepped into the scanner yet again and landed in the desert sector.

“Is there any particular mission here, or just looking around for anything different?” he asked.

“This is your chance to get as much free riding in as possible, while also being helpful. Spend some time in each sector, and report back anything suspicious. A couple days in each should be fine until told otherwise. The order doesn’t matter.”

“Understood.” He let his stress go, and flew around the desert. ‘This has to be one of my favorite missions so far,’ he mused to himself. He was getting anxious and excited as he thought more about the unprecedented opportunity he had been given. With all the time available, the mystery man who spoke to him earlier should hopefully feel safe enough to reach out to him. Shen worked on a strategy to make sure he would not draw suspicion, and decided on visiting the ice sector last. He’d use the excuse of needed a break to stop in the cave. He hoped this other person had the ability to make his exit from their meeting seamless enough to slip under the radar.

Journeying through the forest and mountains, he once again found nothing suspect. The ice sector was next, and his nerves were slightly on edge.

“How are things on your end?” Shen asked.

“Good so far. I take it you haven’t found anything yet either?” Bella responded.

“Nope, but I am feeling very tired. I may stop in that cave over there to rest up. I can barely keep my bike steady, let alone search properly. You can alert me if there is an emergency.”

“Go ahead. Thank you for doing this. I know it’s exhausting, but it really is important.” Shen could hardly believe he got permission, and nearly fell over in shock.

‘Things generally don’t go this well for me, I hope this is not a trap!’ he thought. Shen’s bike was leaned against the wall, and he lay down on the other wall. Time was creeping by as he waited for something to happen. Right as he began to think he had the wrong place, the scenery changed. A grid of six interfaces were on the wall, each one with various codes and images. A fog-like barrier appeared by the entrance and the same young man from before was staring at him with an expression of relief.

“Thank god! It’s about time we met again. I am sorry I couldn’t give you my name before. I’m Aidan Lee.”

“It’s nice to have a name to call you, but keep in mind I don’t fully trust you yet. Part of me still thinks this is a trap,” Shen stated.

“I get it. I am here to try and give you the real truth, but with all you have been through, I understand it may be hard to grasp. Just so you know, no one can see or hear us in here, and I can let you out without getting you in trouble.”

“Thank you. I honestly don’t know where to begin.” The awkward silence was painful.

“Me either,” Aidan admitted. “I guess I should start with the core of it all. Do you know who, or what, XANA is?”

“He is an AI or some other kind of computer program that somehow gained a personality. He plays the role of boss for the scientists, so I assume he is in a system somewhere to create legally binding contracts with real humans who need money to live,” Shen answered.

“I am surprised he told you that much. It is important you learn his history if you want to fully understand the connections I will attempt to make.”

“I am all ears, and if you can provide actual proof, I may just believe you.”

“I can and will. A man named Kaydin Lynn was the previous leader of the lab where you live. He and his prestigious team build the supercomputer and Lyoko, along with the scanners. Here is their picture at the groundbreaking of the facility.” The distressed, black and white photo on the interface showed a plain looking man with thick glasses surrounded by others in similar garb posing in front of a hole in the ground and construction equipment. “Something as huge as Lyoko, and the ability to virtualize humans into a digital realm needed protection from competitors and greedy assholes who would exploit it for profit. For this purpose, he created a security system to scan for and destroy any bugs, viruses, or hackers. It’s core goal was to protect Lyoko. He called it XANA.”

“Wait! So, this big and scary AI is just a security system gone rogue?” Shen asked, still in shock at this new information.

“Kaydin took a risk, and designed XANA with the ability to learn and evolve. Eventually, he and his team lost control of his evolution, and he changed from a steady security guard into a power-obsessed maniac. The interesting part is that his core directive is the same as before. He is doing all of these disturbing things in the desire to protect Lyoko, but in reality, his dominance would only hurt it more. Here you see a comparison scan I did of his internal codes a long time ago and now. The inner layers are the same, but the rest is drastically different,” Aidan explained.

“Did Kaydin die? He isn’t at the lab as of now. Also, thank for taking the time to explain and show real evidence. Any time I dare to question anything back there, I get told to mind my place or risk getting punished.”

“I know very well what you are going through. As I mentioned before, I was XANA’s champion once, and…the memories still haunt me.” Aidan sighed and continued after a pause.

“Kaydin saw that his creation was beyond control and left before XANA had enough power to stop him. His team was being corrupted or killed, causing him to drown in guilt. Kaydin’s next step was to get far enough away, and stay off the grid long enough to avoid being found. Eventually, he settled in France, determined to build a new lab and team to fix his mistakes and kill XANA. Have you ever wondered how the others get here?”  
“Now that you say so, yeah. Is there another computer and scanner system out there?”

“Yes. Kaydin’s new lab was much stronger than the original, but he disappeared before he could take any real swings at his rogue program. The journals he left behind say he may have gone to Lyoko, and we have found hints of his DNA code. They are faint, but give me hope he may still be alive in some small way.”  
“You speak like he meant a lot to you,” Shen observed. Aidan sat down and seemed to drift off again. “You do not need to open any old wounds. I won’t push you to answer that.”

“Shen. You were chosen to be XANA’s vessel due to your strength and who your parents are. I was chosen because of my status as a computer geek.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but did you mention my parents?”

“I did. They are named Erik and Tori. I could explain, but I think watching this video I took from your lab will be more informative. Pay attention to the timestamp.”

**_“What did you need boss? My son comes back from his party soon, and we need to be home soon,” a younger Tori asked._ **

**_“Your son is very…interesting. I need him,” XANA stated._ **

**_“Excuse me?! What do you mean?” Erik inquired._ **

**_“I need a vessel. He fits the mold perfectly. If you sign these papers giving him to me legally and otherwise, you will receive that promotion so desire, and will never have to worry about money ever again,” the AI offered. Two androids stepped up and placed the paperwork on the table._ **

**_“He is our son! No promotion is worth selling him off! I’ve seen what you do to your experiments, and I will not sign!” The couple stood there defiantly._ **

**_“If he wants to avoid the fate of these other slaves, then he will obey. You two will also, if you wish to live. I’d hate to have to send two of my team members to the lower levels, but two more mindless bodies wouldn’t hurt. What do you say?” The androids pulled out their knives and blocked the exit._ **

“STOP!” Shen cried. “Th-They do care! Oh my god…the things I said to them…I didn’t know!”

“XANA has been manipulating you into thinking you had freedom. He has been pulling your strings the whole time; preparing you and your body to literally carry him to world domination. Did you think your enhanced arm was the end? Eventually, you will become more and more like those androids, but with a false sense of consent to the process. I was even able to find the plan for you in their files one day if you want to look.”

“How far does this go? Do I have a secret second life too???” Shen asked sarcastically.

Aidan winced and pulled up another file. “I am not sure how, but they have managed to do just that. When you are in the lab, you forget everything from your normal life, and in your normal life, you are almost totally unaware of your involvement in Lyoko. I think I found a way to reverse the effect. Will you let me try?”

“Anything to get more answers!” Shen agreed. A blue light surrounded Shen and he collapsed, gripping his head as a severe pain ran through him. The clouds in his mind suddenly dropped away, and he saw everything clearly. The nightmares, green blood, strange new fears and associations; it was all real. His friends, or rather babysitters purposefully provoked him to destroy what was left of his family, and had reported everything back to XANA. He slumped against the ice wall and cried, letting the digital tears flow freely. Anger, despair, and guilt overwhelmed him. He was shocked out of a trance by Aidan’s hand on his shoulder.

Rage boiled at the sympathetic look on his face and he exploded.

“Don’t touch me! You have no idea what I am feeling right now, so don’t try to act like it!” Aidan visibly flinched and backed off.

“You’re wrong…”

“What did you say!?

“I SAID YOU ARE WRONG!!” Aidan screamed. “I was tricked too! They told me it was an internship, and I was so excited to be a part of such amazing work. I learned of my real purpose, and after calming down, began to scheme. I would work on my own escape in any down time I had, but I did not see the so-called doctors coming. They drugged me and took me down a long elevator. On the nearby table was robotic replicas of human organs and muscles. When I woke up, I was submerged in that green shit. They found out I was planning to escape and took my humanity away as an attempt to control me, so I activated my plan before they could stop me. My new android body was strong enough to push past the guards, so I ran to the scanners and reached my chosen terminal.” He paused to catch his breath. “I had created an undetectable chamber on Lyoko to hide in where I could work on the interfaces and try to dismember XANA from the inside. I succeeded, and vanished from his sight, but he was able to do one thing beforehand. He tied my digital DNA to Lyoko, which meant I was trapped. The only way I had to get back out of the computer was in their scanners, where they’d be ready to recapture or kill me. I have been a prisoner here for years. I was android number 2. The latest number I saw on the cameras was 52. You have no idea what being paranoid and alone for that long does to someone!”

Shen immediately felt guilty for his outburst and asked another of his burning questions. “I am sorry. I have trouble with my temper sometimes. I got the idea you and the other three were working together. Is that not true?”

“Eventually, I found another strong signal, and followed it. At the end of the trail was Kaydin’s second lab. He saw me, and I explained who I was and why I was on Lyoko. He vowed to help me, and taught me much more than I already knew. He was a mentor and kind of like a father to me. When he disappeared, I was alone for a while until I noticed his computer was running again. This was shortly after you came to the lab. The archer, Taro, is also very good with computers and coding, so he was playing around in the system. I watched from a distance and noticed the other two with him. I reached out, and when they heard the tale, they decided to join me. Taro was my backup, while Zia and Dean were our knights. With notes and journals left by Kaydin, as well as my new friends, we began to try and make some progress, but were greeted by you; a very dangerous foe who has severely hindered our work.”

“Is there a way for me to help? I can’t stray from them just yet, it’s too dangerous, and I can gather more information on the inside while you work in the computer-y stuff,” Shen asked.

“Hahahahahaha! ‘Computer-y stuff’?” Aidan fell to the floor laughing.

“Hey! I am not a tech geek! I do not know the proper lingo!” Shen defended.

“It’s fine, that was just hysterical. Yes, you can help. You should no longer be affected by the split in your life or most of his manipulation, but you must act like you are. Even one slip up in expression or word choice can spell disaster. Do as they say, and report things back to me when it’s safe to do so. I need to get a program set up to do that first, and we need to come up with a signal system to communicate while you are being watched by them. I will stay here in this cave until we get that far, then move back to my safe spot.

“Awesome. We don’t have much time left, but I want to tell you one thing I overheard a while ago. The reason I was traveling between the Way Towers was to gather data on the binds that hold XANA to Lyoko. He wants to be able to move outside of the supercomputer, and use the internet to ‘spread his influence’ as he put it.”

“Fuck! If he gets to the internet, the world is screwed! He could infect every network across the globe given enough time, and essentially become the unseen and unknown God of any society that uses computers.”

“Can you track him there?” Shen asked.

“Maybe… but it is immensely more challenging. The internet is wildly complex and huge when compared to Lyoko, with many more places for him to hide. Thank you for sharing that, I will use it to gather more information and potentially could fiddle with his shackles to make them tighter. At the very least, it’ll buy us time. Z, Taro, and Dean will still fight you like normal to keep suspicion away, but now that we have an alliance, I may use them to send signals to you, so keep your eyes open. Give me one moment to release the door, and you can go back. Sit in the same way you were just in case. I will be in contact with you later, I promise.”

“Thanks, Aidan. XANA will pay for everything he has done!” With a look of determination, the two young men shook hands and parted ways.

Shen yawned and grabbed his bike before taking one last lap around the ice sector.

“The glaciers are clear. What are my next orders?” Shen asked.

“It’s about time! That was not a little break!” James’s voice broke the peace.

“How about you come in here and explore three and a half sectors without sleep! I may not need food in this form, but I am still human, and sleep is only natural after that much activity! I don’t even know how many days I have been here!” Shen retorted.

“Whatever! Get to the nearest tower. We are bringing you in.”

Shen returned to the lab, and went to his room. The sheer effort of keeping his facial expressions from revealing his new purpose and alliance was exhausting, and he fell asleep while trying to fully wrap his mind around all the new information he learned from Aidan.


	13. Strengthening the Shackles

**Chapter 13: Strengthening the Shackles**

Weeks passed. With each day, the tension rose. XANA was increasingly paranoid, and was working his servants to the bone. Shen basically lived on Lyoko, which gave him plenty of time to communicate with Aidan and the others. A series of non-verbal signals and code words were decided on to send messages back and forth during battles. Shen was feeding as much information to Aidan as he safely could.

“Shen to Control.”

“We hear you. Any news?” a very tired sounding James asked.

“No, I am just letting you know I am going to nap for a bit. I can’t keep my eyes open much longer,” Shen said.

“Fine. We will keep a tighter watch while you rest.”

“This is going to sound weird from me, but you need sleep too. Get an android or something to take over for a bit. XANA won’t be very happy if you guys are passing out on him.”

“You know what…” James sighed. “It’s not worth arguing. You are right, I will see if I can slip out for a spell. Good luck.”

Shen walked to the familiar ice cove and waited for Aidan to show himself.

“Hey! I have news!” Aidan exclaimed excitedly.

“Let me guess, it is something to do with your program thingy?”

“It’s ready. This stalemate can finally end!”

“Thank God! I can’t take much more of this; the anxiety will be the death of me.” Shen responded. “I genuinely love seeing you rant about the details, but for now just tell me what it is designed to do.”

Aidan laughed, and a small blush colored his cheeks. “Really? It feels like I just annoy people when I do that.”

“It’s far from annoying! I have learned some things from them believe it or not, and you are just so dang cute when you get passionate about what you love.” Shen chuckled at Aidan’s even redder face and embarrassed sputtering. He couldn’t help but think to himself, ‘If things were different, I’d ask him on a date. I’d love to get to know the nerd better, and see how he’d react to joining me on a rougher joyride through Lyoko on my motorcycle. Perhaps when this is done…’

“Ahem…” Aidan cleared his throat, and began to explain his plan. “This program will be inserted into the core programming of Lyoko. It will completely rewrite and severely strengthen the bonds that hold XANA inside. If it works as I hope, his progress will be pushed back so far it’ll take years to recover.”

“Damn. He will not like that. I am glad your genius is being used for good dude. You could take over the whole world with enough time if you wanted,” Shen complimented.

“I don’t know if I’d say I am that good…I do make mistakes…”

“For the love of God, Aidan! Give yourself some credit!”

“I have never been fully confident in my skills, so it’s a little difficult to sing my own praises. Besides I haven’t told you everything about my plan yet.”  
“Then tell me,” Shen prompted.

“XANA’s shackles will be tighter but so will yours. The green injections have been slowly connecting you to him, so you will also be trapped in Lyoko.”

“How trapped are we talking?”

“I-it shouldn’t hurt you. It simply won’t allow XANA to use you as a vessel outside of the lab, which is just another way to stall for time and limit his reach,” Aidan explained.

“I trust you. When will this happen?” Shen asked.

“Later today. We will stage a fight and after you defeat us in glorious battle, I will start it up. After Dean says ‘You will never defeat us!’, we will not be able to contact you for a long time. If something goes wrong, you must rely on your team’s talent. Our alliance will be revealed if I try to go in and fix things.”

“I trust you way more than them, but I know they will not let me go, so eventually it’ll work out. I need to go before they get suspicious. See you later!” Shen left the cave and finished patrolling the northern glacier.

“Shen to Control, things seem clear. What is my next objective?”

Bella’s voice came over his comms. “For now, head back to the forest and start your next round.”

Shen rode his motorcycle into the Way Tower and entered the deep green environment. He parked his bike and began to walk. Time moved slowly as he waited for Aidan’s team to arrive. He was itching for some action, staged or not, after several weeks of absolutely nothing. When Shen arrived at a large clearing in the middle of the sector, an arrow whizzed past his face.

“Are you going to show your face and fight or just shoot from a distance like a coward?” he asked. Quick footsteps ran up behind him, signaling that Z was about to try an attack from behind. Her katanas sliced through the air, but were blocked by a small burst from his electrified left hand. He called his bike to him and jumped on it before she could land her next move. He rode ahead, and saw Dean fighting off a swarm of hornets. “Shen to Control! Send the flyers to find the archer, and I will take care of this one!”

“Understood. Take care of this fast, Shen,” Bella responded.

A black shadow darted between the trees, and the hornets followed after. Z and Dean now stood in front of him. Two tanks soon rolled behind them, making the fight more even. Dean landed a few blows but got trapped in a corner. With one last push, he exclaimed, “You will never defeat us!” A blast of electricity from Shen, combined with a well-timed tank blast was enough to devirtualize him. Z leapt into the air as the other tank was defeated. An arrow zipped through the trees and hit Shen’s wrist, nearly causing him to drop his blade. A few moments later, a rough cry was heard followed by the distinct sound of Taro fading away. Z and Shen crossed blades for a few more moments, but he was victorious in the end.

Shen smirked and spoke to the wind. “Your warriors are gone! Is our mysterious hacker going to show their face finally?”

Silence echoed through the digital forest, apprehension and anxiety growing with each passing second.

“Shen, be very careful! Things are happening over here, and it may spill over to you.”

“What do you mean? It is totally silent here.”

“Same, it seems that XANA is having trouble reaching us, like his signal is being jammed,” James noted. “We are investigating, but all signs are pointing to trouble.”

Moments dragged into hours.

“What is going on guys??”

“Nothing good! XANA’s symbol has disappeared and he is totally silent. The only place we can communicate with him is the supercomputer itself! If our scans are accurate, he has been kicked from the rest of our systems.” Bella was beginning to sound panicked.

Shen was about to respond, when he felt a severe pain in his chest.

“AH! Why? I am not feeling so good.”

“Great! This is an all out attack! James, trace the signal and try to find who is doing this! I will try to restore communication with XANA. You two, scan Shen to see what is going on with him!” Behind Bella’s voice were many others screaming orders. All hell was breaking loose!

Shen had fallen to his knees, and was trying to stay upright. As he finally collapsed to the ground, his digital form began to disappear.

Shen woke up in a totally blue space. The huge circular room was domed, and the floor had a large white eye of Lyoko on the floor. ‘I hope this is part of Aidan’s plan!’ he thought to himself.

“Shen to Control. Where am I?”

“You are in the central sector, where all the core programs of Lyoko and XANA are stored.”

“Why did you send me here?” Shen asked.

“We didn’t. You left our screens and reappeared there. Do you see anything weird?”

“Yes! I have never been here, so everything is weird! I-I feel something pulling me further in. I need to go find it.” Shen answered as if in a trance.

“Don’t go anywhere! Stay there so we can try and bring you back.”

“It sounds like you are far away from doing that, so I will go and explore while you figure things out. I NEED to find what is calling me.” While ignoring the others calling for him to stop, he walked to an opening in the wall, and followed the long blue hallway. After a series of uneven stairs, another cavernous room opened up. Blue blocks of various sizes seemed to form a maze suspended over what likely was a bottomless pit comparable to the digital sea. Careful to avoid potential traps, Shen weaved his way through and continued to the edge of the walkway. An elevator awaited him, and once he stepped on, it sped off around the sphere-shaped chamber he had just been inside. The unnatural feeling of being called deeper inside the sector had gotten stronger. Thoughts were raging in his mind, but they didn’t feel like they were his own. He no longer heard Bella and the others trying to reach him. He was switching back and forth between the instinctual need to move forward, and questioning if this really was part of Aidan’s plan. All doubts left his mind once he saw an opening on the southern end of the sphere. It, whatever it was, had to be in there!


	14. Partial Success

**Chapter 14: Partial Success**

Taro sat in front of the supercomputer and reported to Aidan. “It looks like it’s working! XANA is no longer showing up anywhere besides the main server.”

“From my view in here, his team is in full panic mode. They can only communicate with him via coded messages, and it's making their response times severely delayed. How is Shen?” Aidan responded.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say our digital friend has a crush,” Zia remarked from behind Taro.

“Come on Z! Give me a break here! I just want to see how it affected him.”

“Dude, getting defensive isn’t helping your case,” Dean added.

“Whatever, can you do a scan on him from there, Taro?” Aidan asked.

“I would, but I have no clue where he is. Did he show up back in his original scanner?”

“…no. Trace his DNA to see if you can spot him. It should be on the lower left screen.”

“Uh…I see it. Let’s see what we find.” A few moments later, a figure matching the search appeared in the central sector. “Aidan, he is in the middle sector. Did you mean to send him there?”

“What!? No, I didn’t! Let me pull him up here and I can track his movements. Hmmmm…he seems to be traveling toward the center. I wonder why?”

“Why don’t you ask him?” Z suggested.

“That is not a smart idea. If we do, we’d expose ourselves and out Shen as a spy,” Taro responded. “Are you seeing anything on their cameras?” he asked Aidan.

“Yes. They are trying to get him to stay in one place, but he is ignoring them, as if he is hypnotized by something. I think I can get close enough to do a scan. Give me a moment.” An image of Shen appeared on Aidan’s interface, and several alarms and flashing lights were going off. “Oh no!”

“That is not good. What is going on?” Dean asked.

“The program worked too well! I underestimated how much influence XANA had over Shen…”

“What does that mean?” Z asked, growing more and more concerned.

“He is just as trapped as XANA and is being pulled to the core of Lyoko. It sees him as an extension of XANA that needs to be contained more closely. The pull is so strong they cannot remotely bring him home, and…and…”

“And what? Aidan please try and stay calm!” Taro said.

“It is likely that once encased inside the core, he will be used as a battery, but it gets worse. His human DNA, the only thing allowing him to be materialized back to earth, will be slowly dissolved until he becomes one with Lyoko, nothing more than pieces of random coding.” If digital beings could cry, Aidan would be sobbing. “I knew things were going too well! Of all the mistakes I could have made, why did it have to be this one?!?”

Back in XANA’s lab, everyone was in various stages of panic and defeat. All they could do was watch as an entranced Shen was brought into the core of Lyoko. His physical form became luminescent as whiteish-blue tendrils of light sporadically traveled over his body. Erik and Tori were openly sobbing as their scans revealed just how stuck their son was.

“We will get him back,” Bella told them. “For XANA’s sake and his.”

“We better hurry. The longer he is in there, the more of him will be stripped away,” Erik added. “Is XANA saying anything new?”

“He is beyond angry. This attack took our progress back nearly a decade. Our latest orders are to do whatever we can to get his verbal communication and Shen back,” Bella responded.

James came into the room next, looking ragged and angry. “You have to see this!” He ran off with the other close behind. Back at the control room terminals, Z, Dean, and Taro were spotted climbing the staircase into the core. “I managed to get a probe in to hear what is going on.”

“Did he really go up here?” a female voice came through.

“According to the interfaces yes, but I have no idea why. His precious warrior would serve no purpose here in the land of computer nerds,” another said.

“Guys, I’d look up if I were you. What the hell is that??” the third interrupted. The three ran up the stairs to see the body of their enemy collapsed inside the inner-most chamber. “Well then, it looks like our jobs just got easier. With him here, we can move around without any worry. Let’s get going,” the woman said.

“James, try and track them as they leave. Maybe we can see where their base of operations is located!” Bella suggested.

“On it!” The dots indicating the trio’s position disappeared from the screen. A few moments passed, and James was starting to smile. “I’m almost there….gotcha!” The exaltation on his face faded fast when his screen, and all others in the control room went black. A white emoji-esque face appeared and winked at them before plunging the whole lab into darkness.

“What the fuck just happened?!” Tori exclaimed. Everyone was turning on the emergency lights and pulling out their phones to navigate. Five long minutes later, the whole place came back to life. Relieved silence gave way to unprecedented action. James and Bella took charge and began to inspect every line of code. No circuit, program, or server went unchecked.

About a month passed before XANA could speak out loud again. Aidan and his team watched with unconcealed anxiety and frustration at how long it was taking to rescue Shen. Erik and Tori worked themselves into the ground, barely getting more than a couple hours of sleep each day, much to the concern of their coworkers; even James. Forty days after Aidan’s attack, Shen’s limp body finally fell from the core. Tendrils of light tried to pull him back in again, but he was devirtualized right before reentering. Everyone rushed to the scanner room. When the doors opened, Shen fell out, right into Tori’s arms. He was immediately placed in his room and seen to by doctors.

“Any news?” Erik asked for the millionth time.

“Not yet. I will kick you out of this area if you don’t stop asking the same question every thirty seconds.” The doctor continued to monitor the screens, and sighed. “From what I am seeing, we need to keep a 24/7 watch on him. His digital DNA was mutated by direct exposure to Lyoko’s core reactor, and when it recombined with his human body, it set off several severe auto-immune responses.”

“In English please?” Tori asked.

“The two slightly different DNA sets in his body are fighting for dominance. As you can imagine, having your crucial internal organs used as battlegrounds isn’t painless or good in any way.”

“Can it be fixed?” Erik now held Tori in his arms as they tried to maintain composure.

“With time, yes. Until then, we need to be ready for anything. He is in no shape to go back to Lyoko for quite a while, which will not make XANA happy, but he will have to accept it if he wants his vessel alive. We will do all we can to aid his recovery, I promise.”


	15. Starting from Square One

**Chapter 15: Starting from Square One**

Shen woke up and was immediately swarmed by staff members. A pained sigh left his lips as they helped him stand up. His legs shook with exhaustion, and his head was spinning. If it weren’t for the hands holding him up, he’d have fallen many times. After changing clothes and using the bathroom, he was taken to the next room for physical therapy exercises. He had gained more use in his arms, but walking on his own was still causing issues. Bouts of extreme muscle weakness and dizzy spells came at unpredictable times, leading to his existing anxiety being dramatically increased. His eyes held the same fire as always, but were now painted over by shadows of doubt and pain. His independence was gone; confidence shattered into sharp pieces on the floor, cutting deeper with each reminder of what had become of his body. After half an hour or trying to stay upright on his own, Shen crumpled to the ground. The others looked at him with pity, barely disguised as quickly fading hope.

“We can be done soon, but try one more time, ok?” Bella held her hand out to him. With a grimace, he managed to stand, and finished the session. Back in his room, Shen lie in bed, staring at the ceiling. The cold white space felt more like a prison than normal. The silence became the background for his increasingly desperate thoughts.

‘I wonder what Aidan is thinking? Is he watching me through the cameras right now? I need to speak with them again, but how? Was this his plan? Did he know this would happen? If it crippled XANA, then I guess I’ll deal with it, but I am starting to get tired of this. I hope he isn’t beating himself up too much.’

Three weeks later, Bella came into Shen’s room with news. “Are you awake?”

“Yeah. Come in”, Shen answered.

“We feel it is time to try sending you to Lyoko again. Your scans are showing much more stable results, so the urge to become one with Lyoko should be gone.”

“I can’t say I have a lot of confidence in that statement, but since when have my concerns really been taken into consideration.”

“Shen, we-“

“Just shut up. I’ll do what you ask; like the perfect little slave I am.” He paused, considering the words he just said. “I’m sorry. You seem to be the only one here who seems to care for me even a small bit, so thank you. From now on though, don’t treat me like a child. There is no need to sugar-coat the truth.”

Bella sat in silence for a few moments. Eventually, she left with Shen following behind, and headed to the scanner room. The chamber began to hum as the transfer began. The golden landscape of the desert appeared, and he began to wander around. They asked him repeatedly if he felt anything, and for a while everything finally felt normal. Shen went around a large boulder and reported back to control.

“Shen to Control. I see something weird over there. It looks like a squad of blocks, but their coloration is off. They are blue and grey instead of white and green. Is that bad?”

“Let me get a visual.” The blocks kept coming toward him, and he began to backtrack. If these things were dangerous, it was in his best interest to stay as far away as possible. “Run! Stay away from them! We will bring you in now.”

“It’s like you read my mind! Get me my bike, so I can go faster!”

“I’d love to, but it’s not working. I also cannot get the remote return program to run! Guys, I thought we fixed this!!” the scientist bellowed. Shen continued to run, but he saw more trouble ahead of him. Blue copies of crabs and hornets were coming closer from the opposite direction.

“Fuck! Control, please do something before I am totally surrounded!” Before they could respond, a blast from a hidden tank threw Shen across the plateau. Shock and the growing feeling of something being very wrong paralyzed him. The hornets came up the cliff, and attacked all at once. He was tossed back, and finally faded away.

Taro was sitting at the computer when all the alarms went off. Nearly startled out of his skin, he called to Aidan. “You should really see this, Aidan. It looks like something has just materialized in the central sector again. I am taking a closer look.”

“That something is actually a someone! It’s Shen! I’m going in.”

“Do you want to expose yourself?! I know you are crushing hard on him, but please don’t let that ruin our anonymity!” Dean shouted from behind Taro.

“I won’t. I have a plan. Keep watch and I’ll be in contact. Aidan out.”

“I hope he is right.” Z said with an expression full of worry.

Aidan started up his new program and felt himself begin to teleport. In this new form, he essentially was a ghost with the ability to float around without being seen by most detection software or the naked eye. Once in the central sector, he followed a group of blue manta rays. The one in the center was carrying an unconscious Shen on its back. He watched from a safe distance as they lifted him up to the core and tendrils of light began to wrap around his wrists. Shen’s eyes opened then; full of panic and fear. Aidan called upon his gift and severed the ties holding XANA’s warrior. Shen started to fall, but instead of dropping straight down, he felt a hand on his forearm. In the solid blue room, he saw the glimmering outline of a familiar face.

“We haven’t forgotten you.” The voice sounded in his mind. “Hold on just a bit longer, and we will have you free from this mess!” the hand holding him up moved to intertwine their fingers and Shen felt the brush of soft lips upon his own. The simple action initiated a surge of emotions he was unprepared for. He subconsciously reached out to what had to be Aidan, but nothing was there. He felt the distinct sting of a hornet’s laser before he was finally devirtualized.

Shen groaned as he stepped out of the scanner. His mind was reeling from what had just happened. Ignoring his sore body and throbbing headache, he shoved past the crowd of people and went to his room. Surprisingly, no one followed him. He sat on his bed, sorting through the many messages held within the phantom kiss. Did the nerd really feel that way about him? Despite the obvious meaning behind any kiss, Aidan’s had carried a sense of guilt and desperation Shen longed to help him push beyond. He didn’t want Aidan’s self-doubt to harm him or their mission. His head fell against the wall and he cried; finally purging out all of the pain, frustration, and relief from the past few months.


	16. Planning the Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short one, but there is much more to come once I get out of writer's block.

**Chapter 16: Planning the Escape**

Taro and Aidan swapped out surveillance duty every few hours for almost a month. Once they had confirmed Shen was finally free from the hypnotic and possessive pull of Lyoko’s core, a coded message was sent out. It told him where to meet them to plan for their next move. XANA was once again telling Shen to stay on Lyoko for very extended periods. His paranoia was unknowingly giving him and his friends a huge advantage, and they were not going to waste the opportunity. Aidan, Dean, Z, and Taro sat inside a hollow tree in the forest sector. They heard the sound of Shen’s bike approach and once Aidan sensed it was safe, revealed themselves.

“Long time, no see,” Shen greeted.

“It’s good to see you on your feet again!” Z responded with a smile.

“I am glad to have our double agent back. Maybe now our fearless leader may actually get some rest,” Dean said pointedly while looking at Aidan.

“I do not need rest. I am a robot,” Aidan responded.

“We do not have all day unfortunately, so let’s talk about this later,” Shen cut in before Dean could add anything else.

“Ok.” Aidan began, “With XANA’s progress being shoved back to the very beginning, we have an opportunity to get ahead of him. One of our most important goals is to free us from being directly connected to XANA. I am designing a device that would allow both Shen and myself to be rematerialized in our lab instead of XANA’s. This would sever the connection and be almost untraceable. Without his vessel, his power would be severely diminished, giving us time to land a few crucial blows; maybe even the final one.”

“That sound like it’s just you and Taro. What can we do?” Z asked.

“You would play the role of Shen’s opposition. If you continue to fight him like normal, we can remain hidden longer. He will continue feeding us information and trying to sabotage as much as possible. Taro and I will head up the behind the scenes work while you guys act on the front lines, almost like a diversion to give us as much time as possible to perfect the devices.”

“What about communication? If something like before happens again, I’d have no way to give you any detailed messages. I know it’s a lot to ask, but is it possible to create a more direct line?” Shen inquired.

“We can try,” Taro said. “The issue is something like that, even if hidden well, will be easily spotted. You have a stronger than expected internal connection to XANA, and even his most simple scan of your body would be able to sense the change.”

“There is another thing you should know as well Shen. I overheard the doctors talking about more upgrades. I wouldn’t be shocked if they wanted to install it soon,” Aidan added.

“Ugh! I will try and stall as much as I can. The less XANA tech I have, the easier it will be to break ties. I need to go now, but first I need to do something.” Shen stood up and walked toward Aidan. “I got your message earlier in the core zone. I told you I was more than ok with the idea I’d have to go through some pain in order for you to truly hurt XANA. I am here. I am alive. I am ok. You have nothing to be guilty for and I will not let you beat yourself up over what happened in the past. I trust you, and believe in your skills. We will see the end of this mission and finally get to do this in the flesh when we both come out in your lab, but for now….here goes.” Shen pushed Aidan against the wall, trapping both his hands in one of his own. Both young men were breathing hard and even their digital faces were starting to turn red. Shen’s other hand cupped the slightly smaller male’s chin and began to lean forward. Their lips met in a chaste kiss. Shen chuckled at the squeak that came from Aidan’s throat and did it again with more force. They came up for air, and Shen stepped back. Gathering his things, he said his goodbyes, leaving looks of shock on all four faces. Aidan was shaking and muttering incoherent words to himself with his face buried in his hands.

“Well, it is about time!” Dean remarked.

“I think his brain short-circuited.” Taro tried to hide it under his indifferent expression, but there was a smile in his voice.

“And the cool kid falls for the nerd…not too original, but still cute,” Z said.


	17. Building and Breaking Trust

**Chapter 17: Building and Breaking Trust**

Dean leaned against the corner of their ice cave hideout, watching with growing suspicion and anger as Shen and the others were chatting away over nothing. “Are we going to discuss the plan or what?” he asked.

“What is with the attitude? You can join us you know. Sulking in the corner is not the only option here,” Shen remarked.

“I am sorry if I have no desire to listen to your mindless words. If you really want to help us, then shut up and let Aidan talk!” Dean snapped.

“Here they go again,” Taro muttered. Dean and Shen had been at each other’s throats for a while, and have not had a friendly conversation since Shen was freed from Lyoko’s core a few weeks ago.

“Is your fragile masculinity so threatened by me that we can’t even be in the same room without fighting?” Shen spat.

“How can you expect me to trust you when you act like a child?! Part of me wishes you had never joined us! We were doing just fine without you,” Dean responded.

“Really? You must be deaf _and_ stupid if you think that! Aidan just said how much help the data I gathered was!” Shen defended.

“Congrats, your boyfriend praised you! He would have said it even if it was no help at all! Did your mommy and daddy not give you enough validation as a kid? Is that why you seek his approval so intensely?” Dean’s words sent a wave of shock through the area.

Shen had fire in his eyes as he turned to Aidan. “Tell me what I need for this next plan and I will be on my way. It is clear I am not as welcome here as I was originally told.”

Before Aidan could speak up, Dean answered the question for him. “It’s simple, so even you can understand it. Just do not devirtualize whoever is holding the program during the fight. Do you need that repeated?”

Shen grabbed his gear and left without another word.

The awkward silence spread for a few long minutes. It was Z who broke the silence. “It’s time to go home. We _will_ discuss this later!”

“Come on guys, he was being such an ass! You can’t be angry at me for that,” Dean said.

“I don’t want to hear another word from you!” Aidan hissed. “Both you and him were at fault there! Just show up when I call you later. You are dismissed!”

Shen stepped out of the scanner to see an android waiting for him.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Master XANA asked me to take you to the doctor,” the creepy humanoid answered.

“Fine, but I do not need an escort.” Shen left for the elevator and watched as the door closed before the android could step in with him. He steeled his nerves as he descended into the lab area. The atmosphere was oppressive and likely was haunted by the souls of those who were tortured or killed after daring to defy XANA’s wishes. The door opened up and another faceless white coat started talking at him. “Hello! I am glad you made it! We have something for you, but would like to get your approval before we go forward.”

“If it is more robotic body parts then I already know my answer. No.” Shen desperately wanted to avoid going under the knife. If he was vulnerable under anesthesia, there was no way he could trust them not to do anything extra.

“At least hear me out first before you shut it down.” He led Shen to another room where a hand and forearm shaped metal contraption was laying.

“Go ahead, but you are just wasting your own time and breath.” Shen sat down and waited for the overly long spiel to be over.

“This is a new weapon you can use to be more efficient in battle. It doesn’t have anything sketchy in it, but we would need to replace or enhance the bone and musculature to be able to withstand the forces it will input,” the doctor finished.

“I have no idea what three quarters of that means. I am sorry, but since I am not versed in the details of advanced cybernetic prosthetics, I cannot trust your claim of it not having anything ‘sketchy’ inside. I also have been very efficient in eliminating our friends, as the records should show, so I fail to see why I need this. My answer is no.” Shen walked out, leaving the doctor sputtering in frustration behind him.

Two days later, the alarms went off. Shen sighed and headed to the scanners, running over Aidan’s plan in his head to make sure he remembered. Despite Dean being a major asshole, he was not about to slack off in his work. Defeating XANA was more important than their less than friendly relationship. He rode his bike through the desert, watching for the others.

“They are just a bit further ahead. You should see them soon,” Bella said.

“Roger. Do we know what they are doing?” Shen asked.

“We think they are trying to install a program into the Way Tower. You need to stop them,” James explained.

“I will do what I can.” Shen saw a swarm of hornets flying in from the opposite side to try and surround them, and sped up to join the attack. Taro was holding the program, but when he was hit by a couple hornet lasers, tossed it to Z. Shen stayed on his bike, riding around while dodging arrows. One more laser blast sent Taro down to the lower plateau, and he was chased away by the flying monsters. Only two remained, and they were trying to get passed the barricade of blocks XANA had sent.

“It seems your path is not available. I could show you a detour, but it’ll cost you,” Shen taunted.

“Take this and run! I will distract our visitor.” Z had turned to face Shen after handing the payload to Dean. Z got in some good parries, but ended up taking a number of heavy hits. Two tanks spawned and rolled toward the two warriors. Z’s blades found an opening, and ran through Shen’s lower abdomen. Before she could land the killing blow, she had to jump to the left to avoid being ran over. The two large monsters shoved her toward a narrow bridge, giving her no option but to run the opposite direction. Shen internally cursed himself. He had no choice either. The only person left was Dean, and he held the program.

“Nice work! Destroy the program and we can go home.” Bella’s words confirmed his fear, and of course it had to be Dean! Their next spat would be one for the record books for sure, but one angry man is much easier to deal with than a XANA who had just found out his Vessel was a spy. The rage in his opponent’s eyes grew, and Shen recognized several of their non-verbal signals, but if he stopped now, his secret would be out. He tried to purposely leave large openings so Dean could devirtualize him, but they were ignored. Shen backed up and with one large blast of electricity, sent Dean home. Control was happy, but Shen was preoccupied with preparing for the next time he’d meet up with Aidan and the others. This was not going to be pretty.

The next seven days were a living hell for everyone. Shen had learned he sustained moderate internal bleeding from Z’s attack, and had to act like he wasn’t dreading the next time he and Dean were in the same space. He laid down in his room, trying to calm down and follow the doctor’s instructions. His legs were restless, and all he wanted to do was go for a run, but unfortunately such motion would hinder his healing. Eventually, he fell into a disturbed sleep, finally giving in to the exhaustion in his mind. Aidan, Z, and Taro were attempting and failing at talking reason into Dean. The tension was beginning to seep into the others, causing several other ridiculous arguments. They all needed to vent and talk things out, but couldn’t do so without Shen. Adding their spy into the conversation was necessary, but also problematic due to the dramatically increased chances of the whole thing exploding in everyone’s faces. Regardless of the risks, something needed to be done, so Aidan called everyone except Dean to their meeting space as soon as it was safe for Shen to come undetected.

The sound of a motorcycle broke the uncomfortable silence, and Shen soon came into the room.

“Hey! You are moving slower than normal, are you ok?” Z asked.

“I guess. Have you guys noticed the residual injuries from our digital fights have gotten much worse?” Shen answered.

“Yes, I honestly thought I was just being paranoid, but I am glad to hear I am not the only one who noticed. Those annoying tanks left a large, red burn running diagonally down my back, and it still hurts quite badly,” Z confirmed.

“I will try to avoid your back for a while, and I would ask you guys to avoid impaling me on your blades for a bit too. I am slowly healing from some internal bleeding, and am not sure if I could survive another blow like before at least until it’s fixed,” Shen sighed and sat down against the wall.

“Understood,” Taro responded. “Aidan, we need to get more supplies. The last haul Dean brought in is almost gone.”

“Alright, I will ask him. It is really awesome his parents work at a hospital. Most of the stuff you have needed are not readily available at drug stores.” Aidan said before turning back to his interfaces.

“Before my best buddy arrives, I want to explain what happened,” Shen began. “I saw both of you being chased away by monsters, and only he was left, holding the program. XANA was in my ear telling me to finish the job, so I obeyed. If I would have disregarded his direct order and ran the other direction to go after one of you instead, my position would have been revealed. I am sorry I went against the plan, but I figured one small setback is better than me being captured and squeezed dry of information.”

“That is what we figured. Don’t worry, I can have the program up and running again in just a couple hours, so no real harm there. You did exactly what was best for the long run, so nice job.” Aidan sent an understanding smile Shen’s way and continued. “Dean doesn’t see it that way though. He is set on the idea you are a traitor, and has been totally unbearable to be around ever since. I almost don’t want to summon him here, but we will get nowhere if we keep sweeping this issue under the rug. Besides, I know we are all tired of the constant fighting.”

“I will do what I can to smooth things over, and am willing to hear him out. If he is too enraged, I will leave until he is calm enough to talk like an adult though. If we let this drama deteriorate our alliance, it’ll give XANA too much wiggle room.

A flash of light in the corner of the room signaled Dean’s entrance. His face contorted with rage when he saw Shen, but before he could speak, Aidan spoke up.

“Listen up! There is a massive elephant in the room, and we will not leave until it has left!”

“Maybe we should as the traitor why this elephant has his fucking name written all over it!” Dean asked with a large dose of venom.

“I am willing to hear you out, but you need to give me a chance too. We can’t maintain this level of stress if we want to destroy XANA,” Shen stated.

“Bullshit! I don’t owe you anything, especially not since you showed your true colors earlier. It was a simple job, and you still managed to fuck it up! Tell me, how much of our confidential information have you fed to your Master??”

“Dean, stop throwing around wild accusations! There is a good reason for this and it isn’t too complicated either,” Z added.

“Shut your trap for once! This does not involve you!” Dean’s hands were clenched and his glare could kill. “You have our leader wrapped around your finger; you sweet talked your way into a trust with them, but I see beyond that! If we can’t trust you to follow simple instructions then how can we have faith you won’t betray us or screw up a more complex mission?!”

“I wish I could tell you the truth, but as you are now, you would not believe me no matter how obvious it is. Take some time to calm down and we can talk later once these extreme emotions have faded. It is time for me to go anyway. If I stay longer, XANA will get suspicious.” Shen stood up and began to walk out, barely holding in his own building rage. Fast and heavy footsteps caught up with him, and before he could turn around, Dean’s blade was violently shoved through his stomach.

“Yes, it _is_ time for you to go, isn’t it?” Dean hissed as he pulled his blade back. Silence once again took over and time seemed to slow down. Shen’s gear hit the ground with a nearly deafening sound, and he began to breath heavily. Sporadic, pained breaths gave way to desperate gagging and coughing. Down on his knees, Shen clenched his abdomen and started to sway. Fear shone in his eyes as he collapsed; the world painted with pain and darkness.

Dean turned around to see Aidan frozen with shock and anger. Distracted by the heavy atmosphere, he was taken by surprise as an arrow whizzed past his face and embedded in the wall. Taro was standing with his bow fully powered, glaring daggers at Dean. As he backed up, he felt the sharp points of Z’s swords on the back of his neck.

“Do it,” Aidan ordered. Dean felt the sting of their weapons as he was devirtualized. “We need to leave now! They will come for him soon. You two go home. I sent him to my personal hidden chamber. I am FAR from done with him, and he WILL listen to me or else I have to make a very tough decision.” They all left right before a squad of monsters came inside.


	18. Dire Consequences

**Chapter 18: Dire Consequences**

Aidan returned to his home base to see Dean, knocked out on the ground. He barely held back the desire to get in a few free punches before he woke up, and went to work at his command center. He pulled up the live feed from the cameras in XANA’s lab, dreading what he would see. His eyes widened and he let out a desperate sob when the image came into view. Shen was lying on the ground, spewing concerning amounts of blood. He was swarmed by emergency staff, who carried him off to the medical center. Aidan watched as the heart monitor slowly stopped. His midsection had become black and purple, only getting worse as they tried to use CPR to bring him back. After five agonizing minutes, they rushed him down to the deep lab and began to prepare one of the healing tanks. Shen was stripped down as way too many machines were attached to his skin. The tank was filled up with green fluid, and the unconscious young man was submerged in it. Aidan clenched his fist and let the tears fall freely. He knew the green stuff had almost magical healing properties, but with the amount of damage Shen sustained survival was not guaranteed. He didn’t know how much time passed as he stared at the broken, naked form in the tank. This was not how he had envisioned seeing Shen disrobed. The realization that their dream of living together in the real world was now nearly impossible weighed heavily on his mind. His trance was broken by a surge of raw rage when he heard Dean begin to stir.

“Ugh…What the-where am I?” he groaned.

“You are here in my secret hideaway,” Aidan answered while trying to keep his voice even.

“Why didn’t I go back home?”

“I sent you here because we need to talk.” Dean tried to respond, but was interrupted by Aidan slapping him in the face. Emotion glittered in his eyes as he continued. “You are going to shut up and listen to me. If you interrupt, there will be consequences!” Dean was stunned into silence by his uncharacteristic outburst. “You fucked up badly! The worst part is, I don’t think we can fully recover from this. I will give you two different rants. One will be purely logical and focused on our goals, and the other will bring more personal feelings into the mix. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Dean nearly whispered.

Aidan took a deep breath and began. “Shen was our spy. I will assume you know what a spy does, so I will skip over the definition. Back when he first joined us, an understanding was reached. In order to keep his alliance with us a secret, he had to act like he was still under XANA’s control. That means he was given permission to go against our plans if he had to. Think back to the last battle. His job was to kill the person holding the program, and that was you. The others were going the totally opposite direction, so imagine how well XANA would react if his loyal servant disobeyed a direct order, and ran the other way to chase after Z or Taro? We didn’t get the new program started and that does suck, but all it takes is a couple hours to redo it, so it really wasn’t that huge of a setback. Think for a moment what would happen if Shen was revealed to be a traitor. He would suffer through an indescribable amount of pain, but our operation would be sunk as well. One deep probe into his mind and all he knows will be revealed. Our names, addresses, personal weaknesses and strengths, and detailed family information would be known by the enemy. The location of our lab would no longer be secret, and our chances of winning would be shrunk down to almost zero. None of us have it easy, but Shen had a much tougher job than all of us; myself included. You know very well XANA is becoming more and more paranoid as time goes on. If Shen or anyone else under his supervision shows the slightest sign of disobedience or suspicion, they are called into a meeting with him. Most do not come back out, and those who do carry sheer terror in their eyes along with physical injuries.”

Dean sighed and said, “Fuck! I am so sorry, I-I acted like an idiot! When can we talk again? I want to clear the air so we can move forward.”

“I am happy to hear you sounding somewhat genuine just now, but you are about to be way more upset.” Aidan responded. He pulled up the image of Shen in the tank and showed it to Dean.

“What the hell!?!? Why is he in there?”

“This is where the more personal and impactful lecture begins. After the last fight, he sustained moderate internal bleeding. It was still healing and very fragile before you stabbed him in the back. With your reckless action, the old wounds reopened and shredded even more of his insides. His heart is still not beating, and there is a decent chance, even with the supernatural healing capabilities of the tank, he will not revive. In your ridiculous anger, you actually killed him, and now all we can do is hope a miracle happens.”

“I didn’t know! I was just venting and-and I….”

“Venting is screaming into a pillow! Venting is going to the gym to practice boxing! Venting is not assault or murder! You have shown evidence of not being mentally stable enough to handle the stress, and I am beginning to question if keeping you on our team is going to help us. Your fragile mindset as the ‘strong alpha male’ is dangerous, and recent events just proved it. Despite what you may think, Shen is the strongest one of us by far and I will tell you why. His parents work for XANA and were forced to sign his life away under the threat of death if they refused. His caring family was ripped away overnight, and he was moved away from his happy life and into a boarding school closer to the lab. His two new friends, who actually were androids sent as living security cameras, purposely pushed him away from his former life. They fed his confusion and hatred toward his parents, until he severed all ties; essentially becoming an apathetic, angry asshole. He was drugged often and taken to the lab at night for experiments and training, which he remembered in the form of horrifying nightmares. This cycle continued for years until I found a safe way to reach him. He learned the truth, and sobbed openly for hours from the guilt. He hated himself for being weak enough to be taken advantage of, and for all the terrible things he said to his parents. What makes his job so hard is having to act like he doesn’t know the real truth. He longs to forgive his family, but if he does, all three of them will be killed or worse. We all get a chance to decompress and relax after missions, but when he goes ‘home’, he has to be even more alert and careful. He is always exhausted and lazy when we hold meetings because it is his only chance to really let his guard drop.”

Dean’s jaw was on the floor as he listened to Aidan speak. Guilt and self-hatred quickly replaced the anger flooding his body. “So, what now?” His voice was flat and defeated.

“Now come the most difficult part. We all need some time to process things, and you have a massive amount of soul searching to do. Review the information I just gave you and think long and hard. Consider if you are truly able to operate with us, Shen included, as a team member. I speak as your leader. You are on probation. Unless in the case of emergency, you are forbidden from going to the lab or Lyoko until further notice. I will be in contact later.” Aidan sighed and sent Dean away before he could protest.


	19. Hope and Scars

**Chapter 12: Hope and Scars**

Z left the lab after listening in on Aidan and Dean’s conversation. She had a storm of conflicting emotions raging in her mind. On one hand she was pissed off at Dean for acting so stupid, but her heart also ached for him. Her and Dean had a long past, and she knew him better than anyone, so seeing him in such clear despair was difficult. She considered going home to decompress, but instead followed her instinct, which was telling her to comfort her friend. The walk to their former school’s playground was long, but the crisp air and blaring music from her headphones made it quite relaxing and therapeutic. All was still when she arrived, except for the metallic squealing of slightly rusty equipment. Preparing herself for the worst, she approached the form on the swing.

“I knew I’d find you here,” she said.

“Z…what are you doing here?” Dean asked. Her heart broke when she heard the shaky and soft voice. He had clearly been crying for a while if the layers of salty tracks on his face were any indication.

“You always come to this place when you need to escape. Do you want company?” she asked cautiously.

“You don’t have to force anything. I know you are just as angry at me as the others are. I’d totally understand if you wouldn’t want to be around me at all.”

“True, I am indeed quite livid, but I know you. If you are left alone in times like these, you bully yourself into an even deeper depression, and I won’t let you do that this time.” She sat on the swing next to him and started playing in the gravel with her feet. “Remember when we were kids? We would sit in these exact seats and compete to see how high we could go.”

Dean let out a small chuckle. “I’d get so angry when you would win. I was the athlete after all.” His tone was lifting a bit with the resurfaced memories.

“In high school you were an athlete. At that age, you were a scrawny nerd,” Z teased.

“I was not scrawny! I just hadn’t filled out yet!” Dean exclaimed.

“Dude, chill. All eight-year old’s are scrawny, and you were no exception. Besides, it was obvious you were going to get involved in sports with how competitive you were. I was not blind to the fact you stared in awe every time the football team used our field for practice.”

“As much as I love this trip down memory lane, I am confused. Why are you bringing this up?” Dean inquired.

“When you were coerced into vandalizing another student’s locker freshman year, you and I sat here and made a promise.”

“Z, please stop. I don’t want to remember that!” Dean pleaded.

“No. I won’t stop. Back then, just like now, you were wallowing in a huge mistake you made. When I heard what happened, I found you here, crying and cursing. I let you cry on my shoulder until you felt comfortable talking. You vented so much, and once you finished, we talked until three in the morning about everything and nothing. Before we went home, we promised to never let each other fall. We even pinky swore on it. You suggested this place as our sanctuary when we needed to breathe, and we vowed to always be there to protect each other, no matter what happens or how severely we may have fucked up.”

Dean was openly crying again. “This is different. I didn’t just participate in some light bullying! I _killed someone!_ ”

“You lost control. I’m not saying what you did was no big deal, because it was and may have lasting consequences. What I am saying is you didn’t _intend_ to kill Shen. If anything, this needs to serve as a massive wake up call. You need to actively try to deal with your anger problems, and learn healthier ways to expel excess energy. No one expects you two to become best friends, but I know you can at least work with him for the sake of our mission. Besides, I think Shen has a big enough heart to potentially forgive you, so please don’t give up hope.” Z took Dean’s hands into hers and placed her forehead on his; willing strength and support to her childhood friend. She cried with him until a small smile grew on his face.

“Thank you. I promise I will try. You really are my light in the dark….ugh that was cheesy,” Dean cringed.

“Yes, but cheesy is good sometimes. Let’s go home.” Z started to get up but Dean pulled her down to the ground instead.

“Not yet. It’s a nice night, and I don’t want to let you go just yet.” They moved to the jungle gym and hid out in the colorful fort until Z fell asleep on his chest.

Back in XANA’s lab, hope was far from the minds of Erik and Tori. She numbly stared at the sickly green fluid encasing her son. Fantasies of the life they once had added salt to the already deep wounds on her heart. Part of her desired to rip the machines out of his body and let him die before he was forced to endure any more torture, but she couldn’t bring herself to act on those thoughts.

“Are you going to sleep at all?” James asked from the doorway.

“I don’t think I could if I tried. Do you have kids, James?” Tori asked.

“No…but I don’t like seeing Shen like this either if that is what you are asking,” James answered.

“Pardon me if I don’t believe you. You and him almost get into a fistfight every time you share a room,” Tori said with anger slowly seeping into her despair.

“He is a stubborn and annoying kid, but even I must admit he has the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met. His dedication is unmatched, and I do feel genuine respect for him. If you haven’t noticed, emotions are not the easiest thing for me to express,” James explained.

“Maybe you should try harder then,” Erik cut in as he entered the room.

“It took a lot for me to say what I just did, so please accept it and leave me to fix my own problems on my own time. Whatever it means to you guys, Bella and I will do what we can to look out for him as long as it won’t result in us being called into a uhh….’meeting’. Get some sleep. I will notify you the second anything changes.” James offered Tori a sympathetic glance and gently shoved them out of the room. That night, Erik held his wife as she cried. The chances of Shen forgiving them were non-existent, but they somehow couldn’t bring themselves to let go of the last stubborn thread of hope remaining.

For the next few days, it was business as usual, but on the fourth day of Shen’s immersion in the healing tank, an excited doctor ran to Tori’s workstation.

“I have news! Good news!” he began to ramble like a crazed madman, and Tori just looked at him with wide, concerned eyes. He finally caught his breath, and dragged her down to the lower lab; Erik following close behind. The sight she saw when the door slid open nearly sent her to the floor. On the bed lay a sleeping Shen; the monitor on the headboard beeping steadily with his heartbeat.

“Oh my god! He’s alive! Erik, our boy is ok!!” The couple embraced and went to the bedside, not paying any attention to the others in the room. Tori’s smile shifted when she saw Shen’s right forearm and hand tightly bandaged.

“What happened to his arm?” she asked.

“Oh. Well, you see, when he was still sedated, we went ahead and installed the new weapon. It seemed like a good time and we feel it would…what’s wrong?” the now fearful doctor asked.

“Did XANA order this?” Erik inquired.

“Um, ah, no, but we-“ He was interrupted by Erik’s fist crushing his nose.

“You agreed a long time ago to respect his wishes and consent. He said no to you before, and would still say no if he was awake now! Do you know what happened to the last person in your position when they broke this agreement??” Tori raged.

The doctor coughed and sputtered, sending droplets of blood flying while backing away.

A deep voice broke the tension as two androids came to the door. “Take him to my office, he is due for a meeting with me.” XANA’s order send shivers down everyone’s spine. “You are welcome to stay with the Vessel until you are called upon again. I apologize for his behavior. It will not go unpunished.”

Tori and Erik took the opportunity and milked every moment they could before reality came crashing down upon them once again.

The next day, Shen was awake and being tended to by Bella. His skin was paler than before, but perfectly clear with no visible scars. Exposure to the green healing serum had caused his eyes to be fixed. He no longer needed glasses to see, and his vision was still incredibly sensitive to light. The only light he could tolerate was a small lamp next to the doctor’s desk and supply table, and he still even had to wear a thin, translucent blindfold to prevent any pain. His voice was ragged and raspy from a heavy cocktail of drugs and the abuse his throat took from the breathing machine.

Bella noticed him looking at his shaky right arm with confusion. “I am sorry. I would have stopped it if I knew what was happening, but when you were out, our…former lead physician took advantage of the moment to implant the other weapon he told you about earlier. He no longer works here though, so you do not need to worry about him anymore.” Shen grimaced and a dark shadow came over him, accenting his ghostly appearance. Bella left after making sure his vitals were doing ok, burning with regret and pity. Despite the issues it sometimes caused, she greatly admired his will and fighting spirit, and seeing him look so tired and despondent was painful. She could only imagine what his parents were feeling.


	20. Clearing the Path Forward

**Chapter 20: Clearing the Path Forward**

Aidan was staring at a large screen, mumbling to himself. His fear for Shen’s life was gone for now, but worries about whether their alliance would continue efficiently once he and Dean met up again were creeping in. He could only focus on his work to keep from drowning in anxious anticipation. The devices to free himself and Shen from XANA’s grasp were in the beginning stages, but it was becoming clear it was going to be more complex than he thought originally. Trying to move their physical bodies and DNA from one side of the world to another without damage is a feat more akin to magic instead of reality, but he was not going to give up.

“Hey, it’s awfully quiet in here. Are you ok?” Taro asked.

“Yes and no. It isn’t easy to deal with all of this tension,” Aidan responded.

“Hmm. Do you really intend to kick Dean out?”

“No. He is way too strong of an asset, so it would be stupid to do so. Both him and Shen do need to learn how to coexist, but firing Dean wouldn’t help us,” Aidan explained.

“He seems to think it’s going to happen. You were quite blunt with him on the subject, and he has been a miserable wreck ever since,” Taro stated.

“He needs to be shown the potential consequences of his actions, and a lecture simply would not get the message across. I was direct on purpose to try and give him the slap in the face needed to really get the point through. I will apologize later, but it was not a time to be gentle, so I had to do it.” Aidan turned to face Taro and sunk to the floor. “Are _you_ ok?”

“I am close to a breaking point. I am trying to hold back, but…I need to vent just like all of us do. Do you need help with this project?” he asked.

“I wouldn’t mind a second pair of eyes to double check it so far. You can take a look if you want. I am going to get some rest for once and set up our next meeting.” Aidan said.

Meanwhile, Shen was sitting in his room, staring at the wall. Despite the blindfold, he could see everything in perfect detail, causing yet another headache as his eyes tried to focus on everything at once. Bella came in and dropped off a small plate of food, frowning at the three other untouched trays from the previous day.

“You need to eat and rebuild your strength. Please just eat a little bit.” Shen looked up in response to her words, but quickly returned his gaze to his lap.

“I’m not hungry,” he rasped. He internally cursed himself at the automatic response. His stomach was growling and he had no doubt the increased severity of his headaches were partially due to his empty stomach.

“I am not going to force you, but if this continues, they will likely force a feeding tube into you…for your own sake at least try to get something down.” Her sad stare wore him down and he finally relented.

“Fine. I will try. Thank you.” She smiled as some of the tension in her shoulders faded, and left the food on his bedside table. After she left the room, Shen slowly began to eat. The simple sandwich tasted extraordinarily good, but he forced himself to slow down as to not overwhelm his body. As he ate, he thought of his friends. He longed to see Aidan again, and was desperate to make up with Dean enough so they can continue to work. The sooner the doctors cleared him to go to Lyoko again, the sooner they all could move forward. Using the thought as motivation, he continued to clean his plate.

Five days later he received a message from James. It said he was expected at the scanner room in four hours. He sprung from his seat and went to shower and get ready. He let the hot water fall on his head, imagining the stream washing away all his stress. When the fog cleared from the mirror, he caught a glimpse of bright green in his peripheral vision. Frozen to the ground by a sudden, unexplainable fear, he felt each moment crawl by. He was panicking, sensing each drop from his damp hair landing on his back was an unknown attacker, ready to land the final blow. Leaning in the fetal position against the wall, he finally calmed down, but his torment was not over. He got up and reached for his clothes, locking eyes with his own reflection.

“What the….no….nonononono!” The young man in the mirror had bright green eyes instead of ocean blue. The sinister implication of the change hit Shen like a freight train. The energy in his enhancements pulsed with the same color. The realization of his ever-growing biological connection to XANA along with the systematic transformation from human to android was too much. He cried out in pure rage and shattered the mirror, not caring about the spray of sharp glass cutting into his skin. He got dressed and strode to his trash can. The crumpled blindfold was still there, and he tied it back around his head; vowing to never take it off for the foreseeable future. No one should see the monster he was becoming. Shaking off his personal despair, he put on a brave face and walked to the scanners. Conversations stopped and an uncomfortable silence filled the halls when he came through; as if he was a pitiful one-man parade. No one could take their eyes off of the ghost-like man as he floated around. On the outside, Shen was composed and indifferent, but on the inside, he longed for the release his almost death would have brought.

The sound of compressed air accompanying the scanner door opening, sent waves of excitement and fear through Shen. Playing the part of an emotionless robot, he followed his instructions to the letter. Once the forest landscape came into view, he began to walk toward the Way Tower; ignoring his motorcycle that had materialized. A welcome and yet eerie atmosphere settled around him, and no one seemed to want to be the first to speak. He entered the tower and allowed himself to be scanned. A few moments later, Bella finally spoke. “Your vitals are clear. Are you feeling ok?” Shen gave a thumbs up for an answer, not having confidence in his voice yet. “Uh….ok, well I guess that is good. Your orders are simple. Spend two to three days on Lyoko, and just get reacquainted with everything. We will call if there is an emergency. Understood?” Bella looked at her screen and saw him give the smallest of nods. Without another word or gesture, he slowly walked off with his gaze peering ever-downward.

“Hey, what happened?” James asked as she put her headset up.

“Nothing….just…..I wish there was something we could do.” Bella stopped herself from continuing when XANA’s symbol started to glow brighter from the monitor to her left. “We all knew this stage of his transformation would be difficult, but I didn’t expect it to be this severe.”

“The Vessel needs to be broken a little bit in order to become what we need. I think he will be more compliant soon after this recent trauma. Don’t worry, he will be ok.” James placed a hand on her shoulder and flashed a smile, but his eyes said all the words he actually wanted to say. All throughout the day, James and Bella sent looks back and forth in an attempt to communicate around the suffocating presence of their boss.

Shen should have felt grateful for the large amount of free time, but instead was stuck in a vortex of mixed emotions. He had traveled to the desert sector and soon felt the presence of the others near one of their usual cave hideaways. He walked in, and laid down as if he was going to nap, letting Control see him clearly. The sound of feedback signaled it was ok to move and speak. Shen stood up and lifted his eyes to see Aidan staring with an intense look, legs shaking in his chair.

“Just go to him already, geez!” Z exclaimed.

Aidan wasted no time, slamming into Shen, and sending them to the floor. The two embraced, clinging to each other like it was their last chance. “I missed you,” Shen whispered.

“Me too. This still doesn’t feel real,” Aidan responded.

“As sweet as this is, we need to address other things before we can celebrate too much,” Z interrupted. They stumbled up and moved to their seats; still holding hands. Z took her place next to Dean, giving him a look of encouragement. Taro stood on the other side of the room, taking deep breaths. Several minutes passed, with not one word spoken. Not even Aidan had said his usual piece to start the meeting.

“This is fucking stupid!!” Taro hissed loudly. Everyone looked up with their jaws on the floor. “Aidan, may I take control here?”

“Um, sure, go ahead,” Aidan said.

“Last time we met like this, we said there was an elephant in the room. This time there is a whole fucking herd! If we don’t clear this up even a little bit, we will never move forward. First, Mr. Mopey Pants in the corner; yes I am talking to you Dean! If you cannot look anyone, let alone Shen, in the eyes, then you are not ready to discuss the incident between you two in as much detail as we need to. Take Z if you need her and GET READY! Talk, cry, scream, I don’t care what you do, just do not come back until you can speak without sobbing!” Taro’s tone left no room for disobedience. “Next, our two lovebirds. I am happy for you guys, I really am, but even a child could see how distracted you are. Shen, you are looking like you want to jump into bed with him five minutes ago, and frankly it is quite awkward.”

“You are not wrong. I do want to ravish him until he screams right now,” Shen admitted. “However, we are limited to this cave, so unless you want to watch the whole thing then I don’t see a solution here.”

“You two are in luck, because there actually is a solution. Aidan, remember the simulation you made a long time ago? I can watch things from out here and send a signal if I see anything suspicious or if they call for Shen to return. This allows you to fuck each other’s brains out in a private space and hopefully come back here more focused,” Taro suggested.

“Oh my god…how did I forget about that!?” Aidan blushed and began to type at the interface.

“What simulation?” Shen asked.

“I made it when I first escaped into the computer. It is essentially a virtual reality within the virtual reality of Lyoko. It was my safe space. I went there when I needed a reminder I was still human in some ways, and it helped clear my mind when I overworked myself. I can describe it more after we ah…finish,” Aidan explained.

“Sounds perfect. I can’t wait to see it,” Shen’s voice went deeper and he trailed a finger over Aidan’s lower back, almost daring to dip lower.

“Mnnh!! Ok that is unfair, at least wait until we are gone please, exhibitionism does not appeal to me,” Aidan turned redder than ever and began to squirm as the speed of his typing increased.

“Hold down the fort Taro, I have something else that needs to be held down,” Shen remarked and sped through the portal with his soon-to-be lover right behind him. 

Once on the other side, they stood in a wooden gazebo hidden among thick trees and foliage. Crashing waves provided background music to the sound of birds and wind. The two men walked hand in hand down to the beach toward a deep blue blanket laid out on the sand, outlined in shells and flowers.

“Aidan, this is amazing! Are you sure this is just a simulation? The smells, sights, and everything is an exact copy! Is this what your physical body looks like?” Shen asked; his eyes drinking in Aidan’s quite human form.

“Yeah, it has been so long, I almost forgot what I looked like,” Aidan said with a forlorn expression.

“None of that now. Look at me.” Shen reached for Aidan’s chin and made their eyes connect. “You are stunning. Before we get to the serious stuff, let’s just indulge in this moment. Not even XANA can take this away from me.”

“Shen!” Aidan gasped as he was shoved down onto the blanket. Shen laid on top of him, held his hands to the ground, and leaned in for a kiss. It was hesitant at first, but quickly became desperate and heated. Aidan responded with vigor, pulling Shen even closer. They could feel each other’s excitement, and slowly began to disrobe, savoring every second. Lust and joy prevailed, but underneath was the unavoidable sense of fear and desperation. Following the flow, they explored each other’s bodies until sleep overtook them.

After a long cuddle session, Shen and Aidan got dressed and went to take a walk on the beach.

“Thank you, Aidan. You have given me so much since we met, and I am grateful beyond words. Also, it may be too much too fast, but…I feel like this is more than a crush. I may be falling in love with you, and that makes me terrified,” Shen admitted.

“You have given me just as much, so I owe you thanks as well. I think ‘love’ is the best word to describe what we have too. Why are you scared?” Aidan asked, holding his hand tighter.

“There are some harsh truths I have come accept since I was released from the healing tank. I….I need to tell someone or I will explode,” Shen stopped walking and wiped away his now falling tears.

“Shen, why are you crying?? Is it really that bad?” Aidan asked.

“It is this bad! I have an idea that could save our asses, but the sacrifice it requires is huge. I still don’t know if I am strong enough to do it,” Shen responded.

“Let’s sit down and talk about it. I knew this trip would not be all happiness and rainbows. Besides, with us at your side, we are strong enough,” Aidan did not expect his words to make Shen break into full sobbing. Once they settled into the gazebo, they embraced and stayed quiet for a while. “Go ahead, tell me everything.”

“My mental state has been becoming more and more fragile. The incident with Lyoko’s core, along with Dean’s attack has whittled my confidence and severely increased my anxiety. Every noise from behind me is someone who is surprise attacking me. I have nearly broken the noses of many who have come up from behind me without announcing their presence. I look at my neon green eyes and ‘enhanced’ arms and see nothing but the monster I am becoming. There is a reason I break every mirror they try to put in my room and continue to wear the blindfold despite not actually needing it anymore,” Shen ranted.

“I will channel my inner Z and tell you what she has told me a thousand times. What makes a human is not the material making up their organs and tissues; it is the heart and soul a person puts into everything they do. You are not a monster, and never will be,” Aidan comforted.

“For now, you are right, but this is where my other concern comes in.” Shen sighed and continued, “I have been holding my role well so far, but I cannot keep it up forever. From day one, I built a reputation as being stubborn, angry, and independent to a fault. Some of my old teen angst has faded, but most of it just changed into repressed emotions and extreme sarcasm. Due to this, the scientists and XANA expect me to be belligerent, so I have been able to get away with a lot that would have been seen as traitorous rebellion for literally anyone else. You know better than anyone XANA always gets what he wants. The plan to turn me into a full android is still in place, they are just giving me a false sense of control to keep me pliant. It doesn’t matter how long it takes or how many doctors he has to kill, it will be done eventually. I can only say no to the upgrades for so long before their patience runs out, and I have no clue where that line is.”

“I see why you are worried about that, but how does it relate to you being a monster or not?” Aidan asked.

“When they do decide to drug me and finish the job, they will not stop at my physical form. I do not need to explain what would happen if XANA gets ahold of all the knowledge in my head. The things he could do to torture all of us has given me nightmares scary enough to leave me sobbing each morning. Once he gets his sadistic urges out, I will be somehow rebuilt as his puppet; nothing but a mindless monster.”

“Dare I ask what happened in these nightmares?” Aidan cautiously inquired.

“I wake up, and the android who bring me my breakfast has distinctive long blonde hair with foggy, dead looking brown eyes…” Shen started.

“Wait, you saw Z as his slave!?” Aidan interrupted.

Shen nodded and continued. “Next I leave my room to see Dean with the same expression as Z, copying papers for James. To my left I saw the unmistakable hair of Taro in one of the androids’ sleeping pods, waiting to be called upon. I run away, and somehow end up in the lower levels to see my parents being operated on; torn to shreds and reformed as yet more mindless slaves. XANA’s deep voice says something to me, and the last thing before I woke up was a needle in my neck as I saw your body, beaten and broken in front of me, begging for me to kill you to end the pain.”

“Oh my god! I…I really wish I could say that is impossible, but I can’t. XANA would for sure take joy and hurting you before the final procedure. Please tell me your idea could avoid a fate like that?” Aidan asked while holding a crying and shaking Shen even tighter.

“It does,” Shen answered.

“Why do you not sound happy about it then?” Aidan was getting a bad feeling in his chest.

“If there was no confidential information or memories in my mind when I get caught or drugged, he can’t hurt you guys.” Shen couldn’t life his gaze from the floor.

“You mean…erasing your memory?! You’d forget everything I have told you! You’d forget the truth about your parents, your friends, and everything the two of us just did! You would be giving up our promised movie dates and maybe a wedding if you’d want that, and…and….” Aidan was panicking as the flood of what ifs began to choke his air.

“It would be a last resort. I’d only use it if I get caught, and I will do everything I can to avoid that. It would be idiotic to not have a backup plan or something to lessen the hurt of the worst possible scenario. I don’t want to lose all of it, but think for a moment. If you guys get killed or caught, no one is left to fight XANA, but if I am the only victim, there is still four strong warriors to carry on,” Shen explained.

“Fuck, that actually makes sense. As much as I hate it, I will do it. Where should the memories be cut. I’m thinking right after my first attempt to reach you; the one that was mostly a garbled mess,” Aidan suggested while wiping away his own tears.

“Yeah. I need to be able to carry it with me easily without anyone getting suspicious. Something like a click pen may work,” Shen added.

“I can make it have an specialized activation system too so if someone else gets ahold of it, the program wouldn’t be activated randomly. Maybe I could use a fingerprint verification system, so only yours could trigger the process once it’s clicked,” Aidan said.

“Let’s not tell the others about this or the change in my eyes yet. I am not comfortable sharing this with them for now,” Shen suggested.

“Agreed. Do you know what you are going to say to Dean?” Aidan asked.

“Yes, but I hope he is ok. He didn’t seem too hot earlier,” Shen said.

“Z can help him find the right headspace. For now, let’s enjoy our time for a bit longer before we head back.” Aidan grasped his hand again, and they got up to wander along their perfect white sand beach once again.

Taro watched the screens while he waited for the others to return. He felt lighter and more tranquil after his outburst, but part of him was hoping they saw his actions as he intended. He has always had a difficult time expressing emotions, and they are the only ones he trusted to see him in such a vulnerable state.

Dean came back with Z, and interrupted his train of thought. “You doing ok Taro?”

“I should be asking you that,” Taro responded. “I am fine, it just takes a lot for me to open up like that, and I wonder if my true meaning was communicated.”

“It was, at least for us,” Z said. “I am glad you were able to get some of that out. You can always come to us if you need to let down your walls for a moment.”

“Thanks guys. The two lovers are taking quite a while. I hope they come back soon. There is a lot to discuss this time.” Taro was about to continue, but the sound of the portal opening again stopped his words.

A slightly limping Aidan came through with Shen, smelling like salty sea air. “No one say anything!” Shen giggled and winked at everyone.

“Ok, does anyone have any digital bleach? I do not need these images in my head,” Taro sighed.

“Sorry about that, I couldn’t help myself. We are ready to get to the real purpose of this meeting now,” Shen said.

“I will start with just the basic updates and then we can talk about the heavier topics.” Aidan took over with a clear tone, and his energy seemed to realign everyone the right frame of mind. “The devices for Shen and I are moving to the second phase. I have the foundation formed, and now am starting the complex process of trying to make something strong enough break the hefty chains holding us. Shen, do you have any updates or information to pass along to us?”

“I have a new weapon now. It was put in my right arm when I was unconscious without my consent. I have no idea what it does yet, but I wanted to forewarn you guys. XANA will expect me to use it soon. He is still trying to find a way into the internet, and also is working on a method to possess others for a short period of time. I am unsure why he is so focused on this, but I can guess he may try to attack the real world or use people to carry him to other powerful computers to build or scope out potential network locations. I would not be shocked if there were other supercomputers out there he’d be interested in. Lastly, I would suggest for Aidan and Taro to beef up our security and alarm systems. They are searching for us with more vigor than ever, and I don’t know how close they may or may not be getting,” Shen reported.

“We will keep that in mind,” Aidan said. “Now, it is time to fix the rift between Dean and Shen. Dean, you can go first. Take all the time you need; it is imperative we work this out.”

“I-I don’t think any words are going to be enough to erase the monumental guilt I feel.” He looked up to meet Shen’s covered eyes and clenched Z’s hand. “It was not my intention to hurt or kill you, I just lost control. I learned the truth of the burden you carry, and truly regret my stupid and rash actions. I know now you are indeed one of us, and are much stronger than I will ever be. Whatever happens from now on, I will do my best to make it up to you. I am so sorry, and I do realize this speech is not going to fix everything. I simply hope you can see my intention to make the best of this situation I put us both in. I’d understand if you are unable to forgive me, but I beg you to at least consider this as a peace offering. I will work on my temper issues, and all of us can go back to our mission.”

Tense silence took over once Dean finished speaking. All eyes were on Shen.

“I forgive you.” Shen’s quiet voice rang in the room, his words stunning everyone. “There is no use in dwelling in the past. I never sensed any true murderous feelings from you. I also have my own anger issues, so I understand more than you know how difficult it can be to maintain control when worked up over something you are passionate about. You are a strong person. Do not degrade, or compare yourself to others. Your dedication to Aidan and our job is obvious, and you have helped all of us, myself included, on many occasions. I do not see us becoming best friends after this is over; our personalities just don’t match up well, but I do respect your skills and will willingly work with you to destroy XANA. We both can be adults about this. We can coexist and work as a team, and if either of us need some time alone, we will take said time and regroup later to avoid further dangerous scuffles.”

“I am shocked and happy to hear you say that, but after what I did how can you forgive me?” Dean asked incredulously.

“That leads into another point I’d like to add into conversation with everyone,” Shen answered.

“We can go forward with that later,” Aidan interjected. “With the largest issue out of the way, it is time for a break. We will meet back here in about half an hour.”

The tension in the air had significantly diminished, and everyone was taking full advantage of the change. Light banter and conversations grew from the silence, and a sense of renewed confidence spread. The only shadow left behind in Shen and Aidan’s minds was the last resort memory eraser Aidan was going to start creating soon.

“Are we ready to get started again guys?” Z asked.

“Seems like it. Shen, you can start whenever you want,” Aidan said.

“Aidan and I talked about this back in the simulation, but you all should know as well. It is no secret XANA is getting more and more dangerous as time goes on. Things may seem peaceful now, but I cannot be the only one who feels the oncoming storm is going to be the biggest one we have ever seen. Just beneath the surface, there is a river of lava just waiting for a big enough crack to appear so it can erupt. I will continue to do my part, but you guys need to take some big steps if we are going to survive,” Shen warned.

“That is a good thought but without details, it doesn’t mean anything. What steps should we take, or at the very least, what direction should we go?” Dean asked.

“First, if Aidan is up to it, I’d suggest making new weapons for you guys, and maybe even vehicles to help you get around faster. XANA is not going to stop giving me more and more super-weapons, and you guys need to be able to fight back effectively. I will try and slow the process, but the more I say no to their enhancements, the more my denial will seem suspicious to him. Secondly, unless I am missing something on the technical side of things, we have gathered as much information as possible from a distance. Some risks need to be taken in order to get closer to XANA and his systems,” Shen explained.

“I agree,” Taro said. “How can we make a program to kill XANA when we do not know every detail of his internal workings? I see some trips to Sector 5 in the future. Also, upgrading our weapons would be a great idea. It’d be fun to see what kind of new arrows I could use.”

“What is Sector 5?” Z asked.

“It is the central zone where the core programming of Lyoko and XANA are held. Digging around in there would be like invading his house to rummage through his belongings and confidential papers. Stronger creatures like the manta rays and creepers are stationed there to protect it, so it would be difficult to stay virtualized. Also, for Taro and I, the firewalls are much more complex, so it will be a challenge for all of us,” Aidan explained. “Unless there are further questions, we should be all caught up for now. Shen should probably get going soon, so for now you are dismissed. Taro, can you stay with me for a minute? I’d like your input on some coding I am struggling with.”

“Sure. Say goodbye to your boyfriend first though,” Taro responded. Shen and Aidan embraced, sending each other off with expressions full of encouragement and somber understanding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a much longer chapter than normal, but I did not feel like there was a good place to split it up. I promise there will be some happiness and victories for our heroes coming up!   
> Thank you all for giving this and my other works a chance. I genuinely enjoy writing this story, and the views and comments are a very sweet icing on the cake. :)


	21. XANA's Arcade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a little different than what I have done so far. After all the pain from the last episode, our heroes deserve a victory or two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been a long time since I have updated, but I finally had the inspiration and time to do more. :) This chapter has not been through much editing, so please excuse any errors; they will be smoothed over as I go forward.

**Chapter 21: XANA’s Arcade**

Nearly a week after they last spoke with Shen, Aidan and his team were lounging in the lab. A soft, melodic, humming resonated from the corner as Z hummed to the music from her headphones. The occasional sound of rustling paper signaled whenever Taro turned a page in his book, and various beeping sounds came from Dean’s handheld gaming device.

“Can you turn your game down please? It is incredibly distracting,” Taro asked a now annoyed Dean.

“The volume is at 1, any lower and there will be no sound. If you really want silence then go to the other room,” Dean responded.

Taro sighed deeply and said, “Nevermind. I just finished this chapter anyway. Hey Aidan, have you made any progress yet?”

“Yes, but I have to ask a question. What game are you playing Dean? That music sounds familiar,” Aidan asked.

“It’s Mario. I would be shocked if you didn’t recognize it,” Dean answered.

“I loved that game! Before XANA, I would play it all the time.” Aidan exclaimed. “You know what would be funny? Seeing XANA’s minions try to play Mario or other classic games. I wonder if the AI himself even knows what a video game is.”

“Why not figure out?” Taro suggested. We could put some games and puzzles into a virus, and force those stiff idiots to beat the levels in order to fix their systems.”

“Holy shit! You are a genius! I could be extra evil and somehow ramp up the difficulty each time they inevitably try to cheat or hack their way around it. That would give us so much more time to dig for data!” Aidan realized.

“I hear excitement going on. What’s up?” Z asked after taking one headphone out.

“Our two Einsteins just came up with a very good and entertaining idea,” Dean explained.

“I need your help,” Aidan requested. “Give me all the classic or classically infuriating video games you can think of….maybe about 10 levels for a good even number.”

It did not take long for them to come up with a list of options for their sadistic arcade virus. Taro was patching the games in while Aidan worked on the virus itself.

“OK guys, what is the status report? I am very excited to see this play out!” Z asked.

“The virus will shut down all computers and electronics at their lab except XANA and the core of Lyoko. After a short time of relishing in their panic, I will activate the first level on only one of their monitors. The intro will play and then it’s up to them to beat all ten games and puzzles without rage quitting or killing each other,” Aidan explained.

“We decided to start them off easy and ramp up to the near impossible or most rage inducing. These are the 10 levels: Sudoku, Pong, Super Mario Bros., Pac-Man, Tetris, Mortal Kombat, Frogger, Angry Birds, Legend of Zelda’s dreaded water temple, and finally Dark Souls for a huge, rage filled ending. With each attempt to bypass the games, the difficulty will raise. Grab your popcorn guys this will be amazing to witness,” Taro finished.

“I have been in contact with Shen, and he agrees. The arcade from hell we have made is only a distraction so we can gather as much information as possible from Sector 5 without being bombarded by XANA’s strongest monsters. I’d estimate we will have a few hours at a minimum, but with the last few levels being on the more ridiculous side, especially if they try to cheat multiple times, we may have a whole lot more,” Aidan added.

“When are we doing this?” Dean asked.

“Tomorrow. We have a severe advantage this time, but still get some rest. We need to be prepared for any potential issues.”

The next day, while Aidan was virtualizing his friends onto Lyoko, Shen was waiting in the control room for his next orders.

“This is taking forever, if I am not needed now, I will come back later.” Shen started to leave when the alarms sounded.

“That is good timing. To the scanners we go,” Bella said.

“I wonder what they are planning.” James said. “It has been quite a while since they showed any sign of activity.”

“Are you scared James?” Shen teased.

“That’s rich coming from the one too scared to take off the stupid blindfold!” James snapped. The scientist shortly found himself pinned to the wall by Shen’s hand around his throat.

“Say that again, I dare you!!” James was sputtering for air, his face becoming pale as he was easily lifted off the ground by Shen’s inhuman strength. “If you don’t want me to test my new weapon on you, then I’d suggest you shut the fuck up!” Shen released his hold, and James collapsed to the floor, gasping for air. Bruises were already forming on his neck.

“Seriously!?!?” Bella screamed from the hallway. “I will call XANA here if you both are not next to me in 5 seconds!” Shen gave James one last kick and strode past Bella toward the scanners. James followed after; sharing a pained and sad look with Bella before continuing.

When they reached their destination, Tori and Eric were already there, setting up the virtualization.

“James what happened? Why does it look like you were nearly strangled to death?” Erik asked.

“I almost was…but that is irrelevant.” James rasped. “Let’s just move on.” All eyes turned to Shen for a moment. Words of worry and pity hung in the air waiting to be said, but the eye of XANA forced the silence to continue. The transfer went smoothly, and the scientists left to their stations. Bella grabbed her headset, preparing to give Shen directions, but before she could speak, everything went black. Startled screams and groans of frustration echoed as everyone pulled out their phones to use as flashlights. After a few moments, the emergency lights came on, but none of the computers had come back yet.

“Do we have contact with XANA or is that out too?” Tori asked.

“I am still here,” The deep-voiced AI responded. “Care to explain what is going on?”

“I was going to ask you. My guess is the hacker has somehow sabotaged our systems, but besides that I have no clue,” Erik answered. "Is Shen ok?”

“The Vessel is fine, but he cannot hear us. Our communication with him and Lyoko has been cut off. I will try to get things back online,” XANA said.

“How many times is this bastard going to get to us like this before we squash his little face?” James asked.

“How do you know it is a guy? Hackers can be female too,” Bella said.

“That is not what I meant! Ugh, I can’t say anything without being criticized,” James moped.

“If you stop being wrong, then maybe we won’t criticize you,” another scientist named Lucus murmured. Laughter burst from everyone at the normally shy man’s comment. James’s jaw was on the floor, too dumbstruck to come up with a good reply. Before he could say anything else, the monitor to their left turned on, and a light and bouncy tune came from the speakers.

“Um, what is that?” Tori asked.

“I wish I knew, maybe we can try to hack into it,” Erik suggested. “Hold up! That sounds like some of the sounds we heard coming from Shen’s room when he was young.”

“You’re right! If I remember right, it came from his video games,” Tori added. Their question was answered when the screen lit up with retro-looking text.

_**Welcome To Your Custom Arcade!** _

_Does your boss run you and your colleagues into the ground? Do you need a break from the daily grind? If yes, then today is your lucky day! If you complete the 10 levels in this arcade package, you will be able to access your normal servers once more; pairing the fun of video games with work in a unique and innovative way. Click ‘Continue’ to move to the rules and level 1._

The scientists stared at the screen in disbelief. Even XANA had nothing to say.

“Well, what do we do? This could be a trap,” Bella asked.

“We have already been trapped! Let’s just go forward and see what happens. This is nothing we can’t overcome….hopefully.” Erik sighed and clicked ‘Continue’.

Back in Lyoko, Dean, Taro, and Z were sitting on the bridge outside of the Sector 5 sphere. On one interface was a window into the lab, giving the digital warriors a peak into the mess they created. Aidan was working at the second interface, steadily pushing through the layers of protective coding around XANA’s core. When they first arrived, to the blue sector, there were several manta rays, but a few well-placed arrows took them down easily. Since then, no more monsters have showed up, signaling the virus’s success in disrupting XANA’s ability to send reinforcements. The group high-fived and sat to watch the scene unfold while Aidan and Taro did their thing.

“Got it! Can you hear me Shen?” Aidan asked as Shen’s face appeared on another interface.

“Perfectly! How are you doing babe?” Shen asked with a wide smile.

“Ugh…save the sweet talk for the simulation please!” Taro groaned.

“It’s going well here. We are almost to the core and they are about to start level one. So far no difficulty increases, but it looks like some of them are about to attempt some tricks. Also, I can talk to him how I please! He is mine, and we don’t get much time to truly interact anyway so give us a break!” Aidan said.

“I like how you are talking my dear. If we have the time, maybe we can visit our little haven once you get the data you need,” Shen suggested.

“Sounds good to me. Can you see the camera feed? I’d hate for you to miss the show.” Aidan repositioned the screen so Shen could watch with the others.

“I can. This is gonna be good!”

When Erik moved to the next screen, more text appeared.

**_ Rules _ **

  1. **_Any attempt to cheat or bypass a level will result in the overall difficulty being increased._**
  2. **_If you don’t know how to play a level, click the ‘?’ icon for a short explanation._**
  3. **_Have fun! _**



**_Click ‘Begin’ to start level 1._ **

“Hold on. Give me just a moment,” Lucas interrupted. He typed on his tablet with a focused expression for a few minutes until the cheery music from the game stopped.

**_I said no cheating. Your difficulty has been raised from ‘Easy’ to ‘Normal’._ **

“Ok, so that apparently wasn’t a bluff. There has to be some way around this though! Everything can be hacked somehow,” James said with anxiety ringing in his voice. You guys said Shen played a lot of games, right? Let’s try to contact him to see if he knows anything. At the least he could help us from a distance.”

_**I admire your persistence, but even the most determined people are not exempt from the rules. Your difficulty has been raised from ‘Normal’ to ‘Hard’.** _

“Everyone stop! No more cheating, or attempts at hacking this thing! We are literally making this more difficult for ourselves!” Bella exclaimed. “Since, none of us know what games are in this arcade, and because I know it has been many years since any one of us has done a lot of gaming, it’d be best to just follow along!”

_**I thought you guys were smart. No cheating means no cheating. Your difficulty has been raised from ‘Hard’ to ‘Very Hard’.** _

“WHO THE HELL WAS THAT??!!” James bellowed. The long pause after his outburst was broken by XANA.

“I am confused,” the AI admitted. “What is going on? What is a video game?”

Shock crashed through the room, causing the scientists in the lab and those watching on Lyoko to freeze in place.

“How could you not know what a video game is?? You are an all-knowing Artificial Intelligene!” Bella asked in wonder. “Was it you who caused the last increase?”

“It may have been. I was trying to search for more helpful information. Maybe this insidious virus thought my action was considered cheating,” XANA responded with an uncharacteristically meek voice.

“With all do respect sir, please let us handle this. We will get through this shit and back to normal operations as soon as possible. Please trust us,” Bella pleaded.

“I think it is best if I step back here. Do what you must and I will just watch I guess.” XANA’s voice almost sounded like a child who had just been scolded.

“Ok. Now let’s go to the first level. Hopefully the first level is not too rough,” James sighed.

The music shifted to a slightly different tune as a grid appeared. Random numbers filled in some of the boxes.

“Whew! This one shouldn’t be much trouble. I did these puzzles all the time in school. If you want, I can do this one,” Bella offered.

“Is this sudoku or whatever?” Lucas asked.

“Yes.” Bella sat down and began to place numbers.

“Wait, shouldn’t that space be a 5?” James asked

“No, you idiot! It should be a 9,” Tori said.

“You both are idiots. There already is a 9 and 5 in the same row. There can only be one,” Bella corrected.

“If that’s the case, then this part over here is wrong. There are three 1’s in this box,” Lucas added.

“I am aware!” Bella snapped. ”I cannot fix that until I’m done with this one!”

“I thought these were easy,” Lucas huffed.

“They would be if some people hadn’t decided to cheat before we even began!!” James yelled.

“I seem to recall you being one of those people James! If you want to move beyond this level within the hour please give me silence! I can do this on my own way faster if you guys don’t interrupt.” Bella’s unusually annoyed tone quickly achieved the desired effect. About half an hour later, a victory-themed jingle played, and a button saying ‘Next Level’ popped up. “Ok, someone else will have to take the next one. I need a break.” Bella got up and lounged in her chair. James took a seat and prepared to face the next challenge.

This is even better than I thought!” Dean said as he watched XANA’s team argue.

“I think your estimate of having a few hours is going to be shattered. It’s almost 1 hour in and they are just now getting to level 2. I can only imagine how much time the last one will take,” Shen laughed.

“Is it possible to get some actual popcorn here?” Z asked.

“Or maybe my book?” Taro added.

“Maybe, let me see,” Aidan said. Blue bags full of buttery popcorn, and a copy of Taro’s book materialized not long after. “I didn’t know I could do that…does it actually taste like real popcorn?”

“My book is normal; it even has my bookmark in the right spot. Thanks!” Taro said.

“Hmmm. Whoa! It does taste like the real thing! This is awesome!” Z reported. “I hope you have the ability to provide refills.”

“What else do you all need? Food? Drink? A massage leading to a happy ending?? I need to get back to work here,” Aidan said with a thick layer of sarcasm.

“I’ll take the happy ending if you are offering,” Shen said with a wink.

“I already said I’d take care of that later my love. The sooner I get my job done, the sooner you and I can head to the simulation,” Aidan said while going back to the interface.

They watched with never-ending amusement as Erik struggled with the complex gameplay of Pong. It took them another hour to beat it and head to level 3.

“Hey I recognize this! I love Mario! Let me do this one please??” Lucas begged

“Sure, I need to get some coffee if I am to survive this mess,” Erik said.

“What makes this ‘very hard’? It’s just the first world.” Lucas clicked on the ‘?’, and read the directions.

**_‘Do you really need directions for this?_ **

**_In order to pass this level on ‘Very Hard’, you must beat the entire first world in 10 minutes._ **

**_If you fail, you will start at the beginning again. Good luck!’_ **

“That’s rude. I see. How hard can this be?” Lucas’s voice wavered. He was good at the game, but had never tried to speed run it before. Taking notes from Bella, the others let him work while they went to get lunch and a second round of coffee. They all knew it would be a late night, and were all silently terrified for what hell awaited them. Nearly 45 minutes later, they heard Lucas cry out, “FINALLY!” When they came back to the lab, he was laughing hysterically on the verge of tears.

“Are you ok?” Bella asked cautiously.

“Ha…hahahaha! I am fine. That was so fun yet so painful at the same time…I-I just…,” he stammered. “D-did you guys make lunch?”

“Yes, I made you a sandwich. Go ahead and take some time to decompress.” Bella handed him the plate and he walked off humming the Mario theme.

“Oof. I will check on him later. What is the next one?” Tori asked.

“Looks like it’s PacMan. Does anyone know this game?” James said.

“Heh. Tori does. Her and I would have hardcore competitions all the time at arcades when we dated. PacMan was the one we ended on,” Erik said with nostalgia.

“And the one I would always destroy you on. You seem to leave that part out every time you tell the story. I may be rusty, but I should be able to do it.” Tori took the seat and started.

“Is it just me or do they seem to be happier than normal?” Z asked with a mouthful of popcorn.

“I was thinking the same thing,” Shen agreed. “It has been way too many years since I saw my parents smile like that.”

“Are you ok, Shen?” Dean asked.

“No, but what is new. No matter what happens, I will always mourn the loss of the life I once had. I’d give anything to get even a piece of it back,” Shen said.

“Is that why you snapped on James earlier?” Aidan asked.

“I had hoped you didn’t see that,” Shen grimaced. “Remember when I said I have anger issues too? I didn’t lie. He was right though. I am scared; terrified even. I get angry to cover up my fear.”

“You can beat this,” Dean said. “If I can be brave enough to face my failures, then you can too. We will not let you fall if we have any say over it.” A shocked yet happy silence spread through the group.

“Thank you. I know I can’t go back to reclaim my past, but I can move forward with what I do have,” Shen responded. Tori managed to beat the fourth level in just thirty minutes, and quickly moved on to the fifth.

“Shit! Tetris has always made me rage. Erik can you take over if I can’t get past it?” Tori asked.

“Sure, but I also have never been skilled at this game,” Erik answered.

“We can all take turns if we need to. I don’t think any of us can say we have a lot of experience with Tetris.” James yawned and tried to straighten out his rustled hair.

“That is a good look on you,” Bella teased.

“Shut up! I just woke up from a nap. I’d love to see your hair after trying to sleep on the pathetic excuses for beds we have here,” he retorted.

“I knew you couldn’t flirt, but that is an entirely different level of bad,” Tori said with a wicked smile.

“For the love of…I WAS NOT FLIRTING!” he screamed in aggravation.

“Oooooooh! Someone is getting defensive! I always wondered if you had a soft spot for me,” Bella said.

“GOD DAMN IT!” Erik exclaimed. 

“Honey, are you ok?” Tori asked.

“I had no idea I could get so angry at an upside down ‘L’ shape! Look at that fucker! It is just sitting there taunting me! It KNOWS it’s the only reason I cannot win this time!” Erik’s shoulders were shaking with anger as Tori guided him out of the room. She came back to see Lucas taking his turn. She sighed, and grabbed a chocolate bar. This was going to take a while. Once each person had two attempts, it came back to Erik once more. Quietly growling the whole time, he clenched his teeth and focused so hard, his eyes were turning red. When the all clear jingle played at last, the whole room seemed to relax.

“FUCKING FINALLY! I KNEW WOULDN’T BEAT ME! GO DIE IN A FIRE!!!!” Erik was breathing hard, nearly breaking the mouse when he clicked ‘Next Level’. Everyone else was staring wide-eyed at the enraged man as he collapsed to the floor. He used his lab coat as a blanket and stared up at the ceiling.

“Mortal Kombat? Why is combat spelled wrong?” James asked when the next game appeared.

“You guys really have never heard of the before?” a quiet voice from the corner asked.

“Alice? Do you know how to play this?” Bella was stunned to hear the tiny woman speak up.

“Yeah, it was my favorite before starting here. If you’d like I can take this level,” Alice offered.

“By all means! You have the best chance out of all of us.” They stood aside as she sat down and began the character selection.

“Of course, the fight is against Shao Khan! If you idiots did not have to try and hack the system, it’d be a much easier match,” Alice said under her breath as the game began.

“What is even happening?” James asked. Alice’s hands were flying across the keyboard, matching the intensity of the fight on the screen. Within minutes she had the gruesome monster to low health. Right before she could deliver the final blow, her character was knocked out. Without a word, she restarted the match and was able to execute an extravagant finishing move to win the fight. The others stared at her in awe, shocked to the core to see their quiet and unassuming coworker in a totally different light.

“That was awesome! Can you show me how to play this? It looks so fun!” Tori asked.

“I-I would love to if we have the time. I missed the challenge some of these fights posed more than I realized,” Alice said with a blush.

“It’s always the quiet ones,” Dean remarked. “I bet you anything she is the one who can tackle the final level.”

“I would agree, but I still want to see all of them try it at least. I know when I played Dark Souls, I came close to breaking my TV on many occasions; I wonder how James in particular will react,” Shen mused.

“You are awfully quiet Aidan. Any news?” Z inquired.

“I think I may have found something; something huge,” he responded.

“Go on. Don’t keep us waiting!” Taro prompted.

“This is the code XANA uses to make the mysterious green fluid.” Everyone gasped at Aidan’s words. “Also, I found the chain he is using to keep me linked to the computer…”

“Aidan! That is amazing!!” Z elated. “I assume those things will help immensely with making the devices for you and Shen.”

“More than you know, Z…more than you know,” Aidan said; his voice shaking with emotion.

“That settles it. When you are done, you and I are going to our private beach. I need to give you a hug at the very least. Keep going! They are going to be occupied for quite a while, so you have time to explore,” Shen encouraged. In all the excitement, they did not see Bella beat the Frogger level. No one was upset though. The best was yet to come.

“Angry Birds! Seriously!?” James exclaimed when they saw the next level.

“I am actually concerned. There must be a reason this shitty mobile game is set this far into the sequence,” Bella said. “Click on the help button just to see if there is a trick to this.

**_I highly doubt any of you haven’t played this mobile gaming sensation while taking an extra-long shit, but here are the instructions._ **

**_Use the catapult to fling the birds at the pigs. Once all pigs are dead, you win the level._ **

**_To move on to Level 9 at the Very Hard difficulty, you must beat the first 100 levels._ **

“I see this being more annoying than hard, but I have been wrong before,” James said.

“Are you ok?” Erik asked with concern in his eyes.

“Yeah? Why are you acting so weird all of a sudden?” James asked.

“You actually admitted to being wrong! I just want to make sure you don’t have a fever or something.” Erik’s sarcasm laced worry had the others laughing out loud.

“Ha ha, so fucking funny! Let’s just move on!” James said. It did not take long for the first forty levels to be crushed, but soon they were running into some harder ones.

“Why do you keep using the boomerang bird like that? It’d work so much better if you aimed it lower to take out those towers instead,” Tori suggested.

“I can’t aim it lower until the taller tower is down first!” James raged.

“If you knock the lower ones out, then the taller tower will fall due to a lack of foundation. It is not rocket science!” she retorted.

“Let someone else try for now. We all need to be as calm as possible for the next two parts.” At Erik’s suggestion, they passed the computer to Lucas. He got up to level 80 before handing the baton to Tori.

“Why do they give you the worst possible birds on the most challenging sections?” Tori asked while rubbing her temples in annoyance.

“That is why I had to step away,” Lucas admitted. “There is a reason I stopped playing it on my phone a while back.”

“Bullshit. I catch you playing this and Candy Crush all the time; mainly in the bathroom if I may add,” James accused.

“Hey, I don’t tell people about the time I caught you attempting to rap when you had your headphones in a few months ago! Oh wait…I just did!” Lucas counter-attacked.

“You have thirty seconds to leave before I pound you to a pulp right here in front of everyone!” James was quaking; his voice dangerously low. Lucas smirked victoriously and walked off to take a nap. “You all heard nothing!” Tori, Erik and Alice barely contained their laughter and continued plugging away at the last twenty levels.

Despite the immense entertainment value of the camera feed, things were starting to get boring. It had been six hours, and they were all out of popcorn.

“Does anyone have any funny stories?” Z asked as she braided her and Taro’s hair.

“Why don’t we get to know each other better? Shen hardly knows anything about you guys yet besides your names and some personality traits,” Aidan suggested.

A tired sounding voice came from the screen, complaining about the Zelda water dungeon. Another followed with a wish to be able to look up a walkthrough online. The others quickly shot that idea down as it would do nothing but screw them even more.

“A bit off topic, but I feel for them honestly. If I didn’t have the online guide, I would have never beaten that game,” Taro remarked. “I don’t feel comfortable opening up my whole past, but I could let some things slip.”

“I don’t want to see the deepest parts of your souls, I just want to try and build a friendship on the base we already have,” Shen added.

“I can start,” Dean offered. “My parents are doctors, which is why I can provide us with much needed medical supplies back in the lab. I was a sports star in school, but had no desire to join the professional ranks. I actually really like reading and English class, and loved my time as a tutor for the underclassmen, so I am currently considering trying to become a teacher. The money would be way less than being a pro football player, but teaching is so much more rewarding. Other than that, I just like chilling out and browsing the internet like any other young adult.”

Taro put his book down and began to speak. “I guess I can go next. I have very niche interests that turn most people off immediately. I embrace darkness and uncertainty instead of running from it like most do. I do not need much social interaction to feel satisfied, and don’t deal with crazy emotions well If you haven’t noticed. My family supports me, but still have no idea how to interact with me, and thing get awkward quickly. They have taken to leaving me alone except at major holidays, which is more than ok with me. I…that’s all I want to say for now.”

“It’s ok Taro, we accept you as you are,” Z comforted. “As for me, I am kinda lost. I had no stand out talents or strong desire to enter one career field or another. My mom and I left my deadbeat dad and have been supporting each other ever since. I want to make a mark on the world, and couldn’t find a way to do so until Aidan reached out to us. I currently work in retail, but eventually want to find my way out of customer service. It wears me down, and only my music seems to be able to lift my mood after a shift.”

“Thank you for telling me these things. I feel like you guys are my new start, and I am grateful you are giving me a chance,” Shen said. “You know my story by now. I was an energetic kid who loved playing soccer and video games. Right at the height of puberty and angst, I was unknowingly sold off as XANA”s puppet, and all the nice things about me were buried under miles of depression, anxiety, and anger. I feel them slowly resurfacing, but it’ll take a long time to fully see them again.”

“We are seeing them already. No one here will judge you for what you have been through. You are an invaluable member of our team, and we will stand by you as much as we can,” Taro explained. The others nodded in agreement before turning their attention back to XANA’s lab.

“Fuck the fucking water temple bullshit!” Bella vented once the all-clear sound rang out. “Are these game designers sadists or something?”

“You guys are loud,” Alice said as she emerged from the bunks. With a big yawn, she looked over at the screen. “Is that what I think it is!!??”

“It’s the last level. Something called Dark Souls 3?” James said.

“Get some food and caffeine you guys. This one is going to be a bitch!” Alice warned.

“How do you know that?” Lucas asked.

“I have beaten this game on my own time, but it is known as one of the most brutally difficult series ever made. It took me 4 hours to beat the first boss, and at least 20 to beat the final boss. Also since we don’t have controllers, we need to use mouse and keyboard which makes everything ten times worse,” Alice explained.

“Fuck…do we have any booze…..or maybe some bleach. I don’t know how much more I can take,” James said.

“Sir? You have been quiet the whole time. Are you ok?” Alice asked.

“I am still confused. If these video games are so distressing, why do you waste your time with them? You voiced concern with the next one. Are you going to be able to beat it?” XANA asked.

“Yes, but it will take time, and we are already exhausted. Part of me thinks we may not all survive this,” Alice explained.

“I will continue to stay out of the way. It seems to be the best thing I can do to help.” The AI went silent again as the others came back into the room.

“Let’s get this going. Once we beat this then we can finally go home,” Erik said.

“What about the enemy? Are we just going to let them get away with this attack?” Bella asked incredulously.

“They have had hours upon hours to do whatever the fuck they want while we are stuck here in a perpetual state of rage. After this we all need a night or ten to rest up before we can appropriately respond to the damage they have done. Hopefully our boss agrees,” James said.

Aidan and Taro finished scouring the depths of Sector 5, and finally closed up the interface after sending all the data to multiple backup servers. They were ok with being paranoid when the haul of the century was on the line. As the first hysterical and futile attempts XANA’s servants made at the last level began, Aidan and Shen took their leave. Once inside their perfect simulation, they celebrated a much-needed victory in the most pleasurable ways. The sense of fear and ever-present ‘what ifs’ were there, but much less prominent than they ever have been. Things were looking up, and there is no way they were going to let the moment slip away. The others were devirtualized and began watching the scene unfold at XANA’s HQ from the real world. A stream of interesting questions and comments flew from their mouths at an unprecedented rate.

“Why are there no checkpoints???”

“Ok, that is totally fair I guess!”

“I know I died! Why do you insist on telling me every fucking time it happens?!”

“How do they expect us to beat this shit if the skeleton freaks destroy half of my health with each hit??”  
“That is not how physics works!! How did he hit me, I was a mile away!”

“A SECOND FORM! YOU ARE KIDDING ME RIGHT?!” *various cursing and crashing sounds*

“I can’t even get close to him, let alone get a swing in on his ass!”

“OH, COME ON! He just needed one more hit!” *more cursing, and the cries of anguish signifying the death of their souls*

*Unintelligible celebratory screaming*

_**CONGRATULATIONS!** _

_**You have reached the end of your journey. I hope you have had a fun time, and maybe even discovered a few new games to play in your free time. Thank you for playing! If you wish to revisit XANA’s Arcade, an untraceable copy has been permanently added to your server. Click ‘Continue’ to reset your systems when you are ready.** _

A few moments later all the lights, androids, and computers came back on. The six scientists were on the ground in various states of exhaustion and relief. Shen stepped out of the scanner, and put on his best acting face. He stormed out to confront someone about his abandonment on Lyoko, only to find Lucas curled into the corner, breathing deeply and likely crying. James had put his hand through the monitor once the games disappeared, and was picking glass bits out of his flesh while muttering to himself. Alice was asleep at her desk; drool soaking her sleeve. Bella had left to sleep in the bunks an hour ago. Erik and Tori were holding each other; barely fighting the heaviness in their eyelids.

Shen was about to speak, but XANA did instead. “Shen. We will explain in more detail later, but I am letting everyone go home now. Take two days off, and be back here on Monday morning. Despite not having a head, I have learned it is quite possible to achieve a headache.” 


End file.
